White Houses shows Paul Fenton enjoying good fortune, looking forward to more, only to lose it all. "Rescued" by Valerie Barber, his life gets better because he is now living with a beautiful woman. But it seems there is a heavy price to pay. The events take place mainly on the Pacific coast of Canada and the U.S. and in Morocco and Iceland.
In southern Morocco, magazine writer Bryndis Kristjansdottir observes the antics of the tourists around her and later writes in her journal about ex-cartoonist and now wildlife artist Fenton and his flash "partner" Val: "She is sexy, bright, a drinker, eccentric, and let's face it, something of a sadist. Her behaviour drives him crazy, almost to the point of despair. And that point is finally reached in Morocco - at Taroudant. She occupies his memory. He carries her around, her image, their drama. It would not be all that surprising if he sat down one day to paint a turkey vulture and it turned out to be an image of Val with huge dark wings, flying low, scanning the ground for meals."
Fenton's mind is haunted by thoughts of the crime he may have committed at Taroudant. Val is unable to take it seriously. In the end it may be Bryndis who will find out the truth.
After Morocco, the lives of the characters - Canadian, British, American and Icelandic - continue to interact. Bryndis becomes as much a player as an observer. Maybe the Scots dentist's wife Jamie McRitchie, "probably tastier than the condemned man's last meal," could take Val's place in Fenton's life - if Val's place could ever be taken by anyone.