Set in rural Trinidad, it won the Desmond Elliott Prize and was selected on a 2019 BBC list of 100 most inspiring novels.

Clyde recalls a break-in that occurred two weeks prior, where Paul provoked the robbers and endangered Joy's life.

A flashback reveals that at the birth of his twin sons, Clyde's uncle, a doctor, informed him that Paul had been deprived of oxygen due to a nuchal cord.

Paul recalls an incident of stargazing and remembers the deaths of Uncle Vishnu and Mousey (Joy's friend who helped raise them) in a car crash.

Paul later sneaks out to swim again and witnesses a suspicious security officer rifling through Phillip's car but does not report it.

Later, Joy asks Marilyn to conduct a mental assessment of Paul after learning he must repeat a grade and is struggling academically.

There, Father Kavenaugh, a foreign teacher, notices Paul's incorrect answers and offers extra classes.