House in Gastouri for rent for 2 mths. Occupant travelling. Reasonable rent.'

In a village on the island of Corfu, alone in the cottage of a man he's never met, a young Australian actor pieces together the strange life story of the writer whose house he's living in. As he explores his surroundings and makes new friends in Corfu, his own life begins to appear to him like an illuminating shadow-play of his absent host's.

Set in the physical landscapes of the Greek islands, Adelaide and the suburbs of London, Robert Dessaix's second novel is about friendship, love, the ordinary and extraordinary. Yet at its core is a perfectly placed meditation on literary landscapes - Homer, Sappho, Cavafy and Chekhov - and the part art can play in making our lives beautiful.