"Set in Montreal in the 1980s, this book tells the story of thirty-something Alex, who is plagued by a gnawing sense of being a fraud in all aspects of his life, from his professional ambitions to his search for love. Underlying his malaise is a haunting experience in the Galapagos Islands whose after-effects threaten to undo him. Then fate casts Esther in his path, a disarmingly vibrant and wilful young women who may, however, be dying before his eyes"