1964. Ceylon is on the brink of change. But Kairo is at a loose end. School is closed, the government is in disarray, the press is under threat and the religious right are flexing their muscles. Then he meets the magnetic Jay, and his whole world is turned inside out. Taut and luminous, graceful and wild, this is a poignant coming-of-age novel about difficult friendships and sudden awakenings. "A master storyteller". The New York Times.