Publisher's Synopsis
Kiri is a talented young New Zealand solo violinist with a glittering career ahead of her, but this all comes to an abrupt halt when serious repetitive strain injury damages her ability to play professionally. After grieving for the loss of what she might have had, Kiri decides that she needs to seek new directions and spread her wings, so she bravely sets off alone for Europe, basing herself in London, which in the early 1890s was a volatile city, affected by the Iranian Revolution and the IRA bombings. She experiences a series of formative random encounters while she travels, then lives in the Barbarino Musicians' Club in London, all of which challenge Kiri's ideas and attitudes, leading to new self-discoveries and directions for her future. The Barbarino Club, which operates in two rambling, dilapidated Victorian houses, in a wealthy part of London, is a microcosm of the wider world. The diversity of its eccentric residents, each with a fascinating story to tell, provides a rich background for Kiri's chaotic new life. Among the many characters she meets are a displaced escapee from the Khomeini-led revolution in Iran, two alcoholic reprobates who manage the club and are secretly defrauding it financially, a harassed Egyptian belly dancer, some local disadvantaged street people, a con-man, an Irish artist involved in dubious political activity, a punk dissident who takes part in a Notting Hill street riot, a sociopathic student in Kiri's school, and the intelligent, successful, but flawed businessman, Dion, who Kiri becomes romantically involved with. Kiri develops new strength and maturity as she deals with the pathos of the damaged individuals she encounters, but she also experiences, love, humour, friendship and hope, as she reaches decisions that will take her forward in her life.
