In a dual biography, Susan Hertog recounts the life of American journalist Dorothy Thompson (1893-1961), the first female chief of a European news bureau and Rebecca West (1892-1983) a British historian, novelist, and journalist. The author reports that both women, friends for over forty years, had professional success in a pre-feminist world. However, their personal lives were taxed by difficult marriages, Thompson to novelist Sinclair Lewis and West to novelist H.G. Wells as well as strained relationships with their respective sons. Susan Hertog also responded to questions from members of the audience at the Boston Athenaeum.