Declan O'Day was one of the world's finest classical pianists. A child prodigy from working class Manchester, by the age of 18 he was touring the world and feted as a great virtuoso. Ten years later, on a walking holiday in the Lake District, his wife dies in a terrible accident, he stops performing, and his life descends into loneliness and obscurity. Now, five years on, he is persuaded to re-start his career and sets out on a short American tour. But the circumstances of wife's death continue to haunt him - and he discovers that even the greatest music cannot save him from his past. The Ghost Variations is a beautiful, exquisitely crafted and funny novel exploring the possibilities and limitations of music, how we come to terms with grief, and asks whether we can ever really start our lives afresh.