FROM THE AUTHOR OF THESE MILLIONS OF YEARS

Bronson Tullis is a highly successful London art dealer, specialising in the semi-clandestine world of antiquities. His life appears to be on a roll until he is led to Italy by an enigmatic Italian woman, where he is shown a black marble sculpture of Aphrodite that has been dredged up from the sea. He instantly recognises it from a recent disturbing dream. Deeply unnerved by this strange coincidence, despite his sense of misgiving, he cannot resist buying the statue.

From this point on Bronson experiences a series of totally unexpected setbacks: his ex-wife suddenly dies, leaving him an excoriating letter that punctures his view of their failed relationship; a brief visit to an isolated Greek island produces events that run counter to his sense of reality. The black statue is stopped at the border whilst being smuggled out of Italy.

With the threat of prison closing in, Bronson is plunged into a deep and terrifying breakdown, where he has to face the superficiality and egoism of his old way of life. A soul-searching trip back to the Greek island triggers his struggle to come to terms with his own dark places.