A gripping, captivating novel about love, loss and what home really means.

Forty-three year old Ria is used to being alone. As a child, her life changed forever with the death of her beloved father and since then, she has struggled to find love.That is, until she discovers the swimmer.

Ben is a young illegal immigrant from Sri Lanka who has arrived in Norfolk via Moscow. Awaiting a decision from the Home Office on his asylum application, he is discovered by Ria as he takes a daily swim in the river close to her house. He is twenty years her junior and theirs is an unconventional but deeply moving romance, defying both boundaries and cultures - and the xenophobic residents of Orford. That is, until tragedy occurs.

About the Author

Roma Tearne fled Sri Lanka at the age of ten, travelling to Britain where she has spent most of her life. She gained her Master's degree at the Ruskin Shool of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford, and was Leverhulme Artist in Residence at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. She was recently awarded a fellowship in the visual arts by the Arts and Humanities Research Council of Great Britain. She lives and works in Oxford.

Reviews

'A tender, unconventional love story unfolds, until tragedy intervenes...Tearne's descriptions of the wide Suffolk skies are breathtaking; she has a wonderful ability to create atmosphere' The Times

'Broodingly atmospheric...Roma Tearne is one of those writers who manage to interweave the political and personal to tremendous effect...Tearne captures a shifting social and political landscape and questions notions of home and homeland...[she] draws her characters with an artist's precision... her extraordinary book offers a rare insight into the subtle and dramatic ways we are shaped by conflict, and how our personal lives can be overtaken by political forces' Independent

'Topical themes such as the war on terror and the treatment of asylum seekers are cleverly presented against a background of love, grief and guilt; all this is drawn together by a theme of belonging...this is beautifully atmospheric writing, deeply moving and thought-provoking' Books Quarterly (Waterstones)

'A lyrical tale of love and loss' Country and Town House

'[A] moving tale of forbidden love' Bella

Book Information
ISBN 9780007301591
Author Roma Tearne
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint William Collins
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Weight(grams) 210g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 18mm