AustLit

'In the arctic conditions of a Moscow winter, a man drives to the car park of a city hotel. He takes off his hat and coat, lies down in the snow, goes to sleep, and dies.

'Why? From a window high up in the Hotel Rossiya, a couple looks down upon the figure lying in the snow. Hannah and Luke have just arrived in Moscow after travelling across Mongolia and Siberia. They had not seen the Russian leave his car, but they did see the police arrive, take notes, cover the body with a piece of matting, and then leave.

'This book tells the story of Pyotr and Yuliya, living in the Soviet Union of the 1960s. Their tale is interwoven with that of Luke and Hannah travelling the trans-Siberian railway from Beijing to Moscow in the early years of the new millennium. Their paths collide during the festive season in Moscow, 2002.

'Set in Russia and China, this story traces two deeply founded relationships that provide insights into love's gentle and tenuous beginnings to its richness, rewards, complexities, and potential for tragedy.' (Publisher's blurb)