In the novel Absent in the Spring, Joan Scudamore is the wife of Rodney and the mother of three grownup children. Joan has traveled to Baghdad to visit her daughter and son-in-law. During her journey back to England she is forced to make a stop at a hotel in the middle of nowhere.
Back in Crayminster Joan is the Secretary of the Country Gardens Association and on the committee of the local hospital. She is also active in the Girl Guides and the Women's Institute.