Crippled when her horse fell on her, the lithe, tiny and feisty Wing, can no longer continue her heady life as a tightrope walker and circus performer. With a lifetime's experience already behind her at the age of 19, she now lives alone at the top of a tower block slated for demolition, avoiding the patronizing pity of the social workers.
When she receives a mysterious package that contains a memoir written by Helena, the mother who she never knew, Wing learns of her mother's bizarre and ultimately tragic story. She reads of the love affair between her mother and Constantin, a contemporary alchemist. Helena follows him from the murderous environs of Valentine's Circus to a bleak island off the west coast of Scotland. But the more Helena uncovers about him and his secrets, the more precarious her situation becomes.
As Wing reads, the date for the demolition approaches, and she finds that, like her mother in her memoir, she will have to choose between fact and fiction.
About the Author
 BEATRICE COLIN was born in London in 1963 and grew up in Scotland. A journalist for several national newspapers, she has written on a wide range of subjects, including Paris fashion, blood feuds in Albania, contemporary art, and motherhood.
Her short stories have appeared in various publications in Britain and America. Four of her plays have been broadcast by BBC Radio; she is currently writing a screenplay for BBC television.
Colin and her family have recently moved from Glasgow to Brooklyn, where she continues to write. Her first novel, Nude Untitled, was published by The Toby Press in 2001.
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The Critics Praise:
“She is a gifted and fine writer.”
THE SCOTSMAN
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