This was a novel ahead of its time examining an issue that is becoming more relevant with each passing year. The basic plot is a workplace dispute over the behaviour of a female manager towards her male subordinate. She claims he sexually assaulted her; he claims she made a sexual advance towards him.
At the time, Crichton raised an issue that touched his friends/family and made him re-examine what he had learnt about sexual power. The screen play that was written for the subsequent film is a slick and authentic articulation of the book.
At the same time, the characterisation is a bit clunky and simplistic. The plot might have been more compelling if you did not know in the advance that the woman was lying. The insights and debate might have been more thought provoking if the female lead is less of a pantomime villain. Crichton claims that 'sexual harassment is about power'. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. In practice, it can also be about misunderstanding, rejection and punishment (See "Emotion, Seduction and Initimacy" or "The Myth of Male Power" for extensive scholarly debate on this issue). A more interesting angle - one amply explored through this story - is that false accusations are about power too.
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