When Laura inherited money from the aunt who raised her, she set off to see the world-alone, 'because two makes one a tourist.' When Ravi's family was devastated by a politically motivated atrocity, he seeks asylum in Sydney. The two meet there at a travel-guide publishing firm. She is a staff writer, living with an elderly Italian lover, and he is a website designer who wants only to make a living and forget about his past. Where do these disparate characters truly belong? With her trademark subtlety, Michelle de Kretser shows us that, in the 21st century, they belong wherever they're able to be, home or away. She has written a masterful novel for our time replete with dazzling beauty, uncanny common sense, sharp wit, and a deep knowledge of what makes us tick.