 But his fiancée is strangely altered and her family’s fortunes have suffered a spectacular decline.The hotel’s hundreds of rooms are disintegrating on a grand scale; its few remaining guests thrive on rumors and games of whist; herds of cats have taken over the Imperial Bar and the upper stories; bamboo shoots threaten the foundations; and piglets frolic in the squash court.Meanwhile, the Major is captivated by the beautiful and bitter Sarah Devlin.