A richly absorbing novel which can be relished for the beauties of its prose and the pertinence of its themes. Sunday TelegraphSeven-year-old Che was abandoned by his radical Harvard student parents during the upheaval of the 1960s, and since then has been raised in isolated privilege by his New York grandmother. He yearns to see or hear news of his famous outlaw parents, but his grandmother refuses to tell him anything and forbids him to watch television. When a woman named Dial comes to collect Che, it seems his wish has come true: his mother has come back for him. But soon Che and Dial have become outlaws as well, and Che is thrown into a world where nothing is what it seems. Carey writes with beauty, audacity and wit about this lost generation of idealists and ideologues. Independent Extraordinarily powerful . . . A triumph constantly disconcerting, yet intensely readable. Spectator Enthralling . . . psychologically taut and starkly beautiful. New York Times