''One of the most marvellous books I''ve read in years''
Rivka Galchen, author of Atmospheric Disturbances

''A bacchanal of familial entanglements, as beautiful as it is brutal''
Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy

Daniel Cunha has a lot on his mind. He got dumped by his pregnant girlfriend, his grandfather just dropped dead, and on the anniversary of the raid that doomed his drug-dealing aunt and uncle, his mother makes her unwanted return to Brazil.

Misfortune, however, is a Cunha family affair, and no generation is spared. As New Year''s Eve nears, old secrets are brought to light and the Cunha family hurtles toward an irrevocable breaking point: a fire, a knife, and a death on the sands of Copacabana Beach.