'A luminous chronicle of betrayal, sacrifice and ambition' The Observer'My idea of a perfect book ... I cannot recommend it enough.' Jami Attenberg 'In this finger-trap puzzle of a plot, the pull of the past meets the pressures of the present' New York Times Carlisle Martin dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer like her mother Isabel. She only gets to see her father Robert, and his brilliant but troubled partner James, for a few precious weeks a year when she visits their enchanted apartment in Greenwich Village. James educates her in all that he holds dear in life: literature, music, and most of all, dance. As the years go by, Carlisle is desperate to be asked to stay permanently, even as AIDS brings devastation to their community. Instead, a passionate love affair creates a rift between them, with devastating consequences that reverberate for decades to come. Nineteen years later, Carlisle receives a phone call which unravels the f
