In Sleuth, Andrew Wyke, a mystery story writer, invites his wife's young lover, Milo Tindle, to his home in order to punish him for the affair. (p. 289)

The two characters in this play [engage] in an intense ambivalent relationship; extreme hate and profound affection alternately appear. Milo tries to take Andrew's wife from him, and Andrew retaliates cruelly in the first act. Thereafter, Milo repeatedly strikes back, identifying with and imitating his opponent as he tries to make things equal, 'to even the score'. Although he is first presented as a rather dull young man, Milo is transformed into a person capable of playing Andrew's intellectual game. As the play proceeds, the affection between the two men becomes more apparent. The attacks have a sadistic quality, and stem from love as well as hate. The games of the two protagonists of the play are like games of a...