Erudite, na ve and thoughtful. Alice Rutherford is, in her eyes, the epitome of normal. But during the fading months of 1995 her sheltered life is unexpectedly turned upside down by the arrival of an impossibly handsome and enticing new teacher, Tom Chambers. A strange and intense attraction develops and almost immediately every innocent encounter is heightened by thoughts of temptation and desire. Eventually Tom and Alice share a brief moment of honesty that cements their undeniable connection and kick starts a deeply passionate affair that consumes and masters them both. Paralleled obsessions grow more ardent and the moral and social danger it presents becomes ever more tangible. But should they stop something so powerful, just because it's so beautifully wrong?... 'The Not Gate is nostalgic and thought provoking. A seductive tale of first love, forbidden sex and human fragility. This story is the guilty tie that binds them all.'