SongbirdsNisha has crossed oceans to give her child a future. By day she cares for Petra's daughter; at night she mothers her own little girl by the light of a phone. Nisha's lover, Yiannis, is a poacher, hunting the tiny songbirds on their way to Africa each winter. His dreams of a new life, and of marrying Nisha, are shattered when she vanishes. No one cares about the disappearance of a domestic worker, except Petra and Yiannis. As they set out to search for

the study of the material remains of the past

commenting on social mores

an old friend who provides the missing link in the story they are all a part of

revealing significant phases at different times

Expert birders start each January by drawing up their yearlist - the birds they are determined to see in the next 365 days

The wall of water reached as far in land as Bristol and Cardiff

A new land has been discovered to the east

Cicero is tormented by the knowledge that he has sacrificed power for the sake of his principles

The second volume in the Tales of the Otori trilogy - a journey of revenge and treachery

Some sustain themselves on the nostalgia circuit

but for what

she knows these aren't just accidents