Publisher's Synopsis
Amid sudden kidnappings, torrid manuscripts, Edwardian spinsters, and lethal duels, this seafaring tale is also a narrative of psychology, obsession, the writer's craft, and human nature, all of which Marìas has wrapped up in an evocative, nostalgic novel that is both witty and dark. Fascinated by the question of uncertainty, Marìas eschews the solution and prefers to revel in the narrative process itself, and asks the reader to consider the possibility that the truth as we know it isn't nearly as interesting as its own shadow.