As this absorbing saga of a modern English family opens, 64-year-old Penelope Keeling is returning to her country house following a heart attack, and her three adult children have varying reactions to the news. The narrative is actually a series of deftly interwoven vignettes that shift back and forth in time; each chapter centers on one of the principal players in the family`s history. The unifying thread is an oil painting entitled "The Shell Seekers," done by Penelope`s father. Pilcher`s characters are well-drawn, real, and engrossing people. A thoroughly charming book for most fiction collections.