The Seal Woman explores the mind of a middle-aged woman mourning the recent death of her husband at sea, in a cottage lent to her by friends in the seaside village in Victoria where she had spent her honeymoon. The prose in Beverley Farmer's second novel is marked by the suppleness of its language, and its extraordinary attention to detail. Dagmar's observations - of the sea and its creatures, the light, the mist, the wind, the life of plants - are so intense and evocative, it is as if she has dissolved into her surroundings. On the other hand, her shyness leaves her vulnerable to the deceit of others, particularly the man she depends on as her lover - and her fascination with world mythology fails to liberate her from the prejudices shaping the society in which she has sought solace. Her retreat into wonder is undercut by a persistent questioning, as to how far it might lead her into a state of submission.