Plot summary
Lise works in an accountancy firm somewhere in Northern Europe, probably Denmark (the location is not explicitly specified). Spark described The Driver's Seat as a 'whydunnit' (and she uses the term in the novel). This is because in the novel's third chapter it is revealed that Lise will be murdered. Hence Spark's novel is an examination, not of what events take place, but why they do.
It is eventually revealed that Lise has suffered years of illness; she behaves erratically and often confrontationally, and wears garish clothing. Lise travels to a South European city, probably Rome, ostensibly to meet her illusory boyfriend.
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