In disparate parts of London, two stories begin that, as Sarah Butler's debut novel progresses, become steadily intertwined. One is about 28-year-old Alice, who returns to Hampstead Heath from a trip to Mongolia just in time to see her father before he dies. Alice has never fit in with her hardheaded, practical family; now she has to find a way to navigate the complexities of dealing with her two sisters, Cee and Tilly, who will never understand her need to escape London.
Meanwhile, on the streets of the city, Daniel wanders aimlessly, homeless for years, haunted by memories of the woman who left him and the daughter he has never seen. Daniel's entire being is focused on someday finding his daughter, though he has nothing to go on except her name. It is only when he sees a funeral announcement in the newspaper that Daniel suddenly sees his chance and begins his trek to stately Hampstead Heath.
Perhaps the greatest strength in the novel is Butler's gift for detail, her depiction of the very different worlds of the two protagonists. With a sure hand, she guides the reader through days in the life of a homeless man--the places where he can take shelter, the people he meets, the way he is perceived. In Alice's world, Butler explores the intimate topography of grieving and loneliness; ironically, Alice is just as cut off from human companionship as Daniel. When Alice agrees to sell her father's home, clearing the house of its many memories, she creates a void that can be filled only with the promise of a future. What that future may hold, and whether Daniel can ever have a place in it, is the central question explored in this book. --Ilana Teitelbaum, book reviewer at the Huffington Post