A wayward, wanton selection of stories grounded in displacement, desire, and the wish coursing through us to accede to the state of love. There is torment and illness, crude reality and distant fragrant places, peopled by characters that reside close to our bones, our psyches, our flesh. A Japanese soprano has lost her voice and seeks repose on a sailing boat in Corsica. A South African advertising executive learns the ropes at his Accra office. Destructive lovers interview a renowned musician in dusty Bamako. Lovers meet, fade, delude. We are weak and defiant beings, ever-learning, ever-lustful.

Fine stories, rank with exotic air, bursting like old fruit. - Bruce Pascoe

McNamara's work has a fierce, vital beat, her stories robust yet finely worked, her voice striking in its confidence and originality. She writes with sensuous precision and a craft that is equally precise. This is fiction that can stand up in any company. - Hilary Mantel

Catherine McNamara grew up in Sydney, ran away to Paris to write, and ended up in West Africa co-running a bar. She was an embassy secretary in pre-war Mogadishu, and has worked as an au pair, graphic designer, art gallery manager, teacher, translator and shoe model.