A child who is the centre of her parents' life, is torn away in the darkness from her comfortable urban home and left to grow up in the barren hills of northern mining country. Over time, recognizing that she has outgrown the kindly but uneducated couple who raise her, she begins a relationship with an artist who initiates her into the wider world and adulthood. Psyche is the gripping story of a mother's undying faith in her child's survival and the child's remarkable resilience as she embarks on a dramatic journey of self-discovery through art, education, and interaction with a varied cast of colourful characters. This 1959 international bestseller focuses on issues of character and environment in an unconventional coming-of-age story that draws the reader into an exploration of still decidedly modern themes: the search for biological roots and identity, and the question of what most influences that identity - nature or nurture?