In the BBC1 television series Heart of the Matter, in which she meets people who face moral dilemmas, Joan Bakewell draws attention to the shift in values in Britain. In this book she presents her personal, non-moralistic reactions to arguments that she has encountered. The topics covered include the plight of the Cree Indians, racial and ethnic hatred, dilemmas of parenthood (including surrogacy and adoption), Quakers and Islam, the changing face of the Church of England, crime and punishment, and New Age travellers.