'A beautiful haunting novel? looking at a familiar London through a frosty, snowy lens. Albertine, the wife of a British army officer often abroad on covert government business, finds herself increasingly lonely. Eager to distract herself with work, she takes a job as companion to the mysterious 'Monsieur Ka', a Russian émigré.

Vesna Goldsworthy was born in Belgrade in 1961 and has lived in London since 1986. She writes in English, her third language. Her books include an internationally bestselling memoir, Chernobyl Strawberries, and a novel, Gorsky. A former BBC World Service journalist, she is currently professor in creative writing at the University of Exeter and at UEA.