There is his first wife, Birdie Bell, who struggles to hold herself together in the months following his desertion; his second wife, Joan Cohen, a lonely heiress recovering from personal tragedy, who sees Kimble as her last chance at happiness; and his last bride, Dinah Whitacre, a beautiful but damaged woman half his age. Woven throughout is the story of Kimble's son Charlie, a young man whose life is deeply affected by the father he barely remembers.

Beautifully wrought, stunningly original, Mrs. Kimble is a fascinating psychological portrait of an irresistible Svengali and the women who succumb to his spell.