"The second vol. of a trilogy; the first vol. is The meeting point.".

"Clarke brings us into a circle of West Indian domestics - their friends, lovers, spouses, and employers - living in Toronto in the late 1950s. In lush, invigorating prose, Clarke illuminates the world of Bernice Leach - a world inhabited by earthy, garrulous, but terribly isolated people, all living, working, and struggling within an alien, white, Canadian culture. He brilliantly articulates the unsettled attitudes of his characters towards themselves, their community, and their fellow immigrants, exploring questions of status and social mobility. In turn, he unites these themes into a devastating commentary on the quest for success in North America"