Major new novel from the 2003 Orange Prize-winning author of PROPERTY.
Toby and Salome are a young, modern couple living in New York, but their backgrounds are worlds apart. He is a middle-class all-American boy from a family of academics; she is a Croatian refugee raised in New Orleans.
When Salome unexpectedly becomes pregnant, they decide to spend their lives together and hastily marry. But finding a way to reconcile their families and pasts proves a difficult task. Toby's mother's deep-seated mistrust of Salome causes tension, leaving her unable to accept her new daughter-in-law.
But Salome' s past, full of dangerous secrets, is more horrifying than any of them could imagine - and the violence that destroyed her homeland is far from over...
An absorbing, if at times unsettling, look at the way violence can creep unannounced into your life at any time - DAILY MAIL
resonant and rewarding - SUNDAY TIMES
This lucid, beautifully written novel explores ideas of territory and ownership to great effect - DAILY TELEGRAPH