Ray Lovell lies in hospital in England unable to move or recall specifics of his last few days. He can remember that he was hired by a Gypsy father to find his daughter, Rose Janko, nee Wood, who went missing almost seven years ago, shortly after her marriage to Ivo Janko, and the birth of her son Christo, and Leon fears her dead. Ray knows he has been hired because of his Gypsy heritage, and though he no longer likes to take missing persons cases, especially after the adult has been missing so long, feels duty bound to look in to the case, and a bit intrigued and agrees to look for Rose. Ray is not surprised with the suspicion he is greeted, but appeals to the Jankos as a fellow Gypsy and slowly a strange and surprising story begins to unfold, one that leads Ray into an unfamiliar world, to places he never thought he would go. Though Ray is half Romany, his mother was a gorjio (a non-Romany) his father lived a traditional life as a postman with his family in a house. Even so, he thinks he understands the ways of the travelers, but soon learns there is more to his heritage, such as a blood disease that many of the Janko males have had, including Christo who, at six, is brought to Lourdes seeking a cure that his father Ivo claims to have received twenty years ago. At odds with his present, not yet willing to sign his divorce papers, Ray faces his past and his roots while unraveling the mystery the Jankos have been keeping for many years. Penney’s prose will draw readers into the narrative while her plot will keep pages turning until the last page.
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