<b>A "brilliant, astonishing modern love story"* and an acclaimed literary debut... </b><br><br> A young Cuban woman passes her nights dancing in a seedy Florida strip club; a Russian orphan loses everything, then builds a new and prosperous life for himself in New York; a woman struggles to maintain her dignity and hope after a life-changing accident&mdash;these are the three members of the troika whose story is told in this dazzling literary debut.<br><br> Their lives unexpectedly intertwined, Perla, Julian and Sophie discover a world&mdash;a way of life&mdash;that forces them to challenge their definitions of commitment, love and trust, a world that heals old wounds and inspires them to transform tragedy into beauty.<br><br> &ldquo;What a great gallop through the landscape of the human heart, what a brilliant, astonishing modern love story, what a beautiful pair of heroines, what an amazing journey from the plantains of Little Havana and a Fort Lauderdale strip club to Fifth Avenue and East Hampton, what a ride to a complex and satisfying redemption, what a glorious testimony to the way damage can become a lovely destiny, what a book!&rdquo;&mdash;*Susan Cheever