A welcome return to form after the war and battle of the last volume. The story swings back to Mr. Smith, though again he's just an excuse to introduce another bride. Anis, who has a happy marriage and a small baby, is nonetheless deeply lonely. Although she's from a wealthy home and shouldn't have any problems, her culture keeps her in isolation and really her only friend is the Persian cat (the drawings of this cat, with a range of very grumpy and put-upon expressions, are delightful). Her maid suggests that she visits the women's baths, which are a place for women to form friendships with each other, and pretty much the entirety of the book takes place in these baths, as Anis develops friends and interests of her own. There's one particular friend, Sherine, who Anis becomes very close with, undergoing a ceremony to make them "avowed sisters." In one way it reminds me of the "bosom friendship" of Anne Shirley and Diana Barry, though damned if I don't end up thinking Anis is just as interested in Sherine as she is her own husband. The avowed sisters ceremony even comes across as wedding-like, though I in no way understand enough about the culture to have any idea about the truth of that. I just see Anis' fascination with Sherine's tits and draw my own conclusions.