The teaching staff at the Loomis-Cull Academy (English for Foreign Students) each has their own relationship, domestic and career problems. At the eye of the storm stands St John Quartermaine, blissfully unaware of the emotional turmoil revolving around him. Regarded by Harold Pinter as Simon Gray's finest work, Quartermaine's Terms covers a year in the fluctuating fortunes of the school as the characters tangle and untangle themselves around a baffled, uncomprehending St John. A gentle and very funny look at seven "lives of quiet desperation".