August is a tall, pale, painfully shy young man with blood-orange hair and sun-shy eyes, who hides his awkwardness behind the counter of a gourmet deli in London's diverse Shepherd's Bush neighborhood. One December day, August notices something unusual-a rash on his skin that exactly resembles the frost on his windowpane. The same day, into the peace of the deli and August's dreamy fantasizing about his sassy coworker (with the gender-reversed name of Henry) come a spherical deep-orange cheese which seems to mock August's own coloring, and his mother's old boyfriend Cosmo, whom he hasn't seen...

A beautifully written, unforgettable novel of a troubled marriage, set against the lush landscape and political turmoil of Trinidad
Monique Roffey's Orange Prize-shortlisted novel is a gripping portrait of postcolonialism that stands among great works by Caribbean writers like Jamaica Kincaid and Andrea Levy.
When George and Sabine Harwood arrive in Trinidad from England, George is immediately seduced by the beguiling island, while Sabine feels isolated, heat-fatigued, and ill-at-ease. As they adapt to new circumstances, their marriage endures for better or worse, despite...