Tobys Room opens in the July of 1917, three years after the events of Life Class. Elinor Brooke is still painting, but her brother Toby is shipping out to the front as a medical officer, a fact that she cannot bring herself to accept. Toby finds himself on the same channel crossing as Kit Neville, a close friendand aspiring suitorof Elinors from before the war. Intent on cementing his reputation as an artist, Kit never intended to serve overseas. Conscripted nonetheless, he becomes a stretcher-bearer assigned to assist Toby. Its exhausting, dangerous work, and Kit resents Tobys frequent decisions to risk their own lives in attempting to save the wounded. Confronted daily by their mortality, both men find solace in sexual exploits, but Toby pushes the envelope further by seeking out men, risking a great deal in the process.
