Aphra Abrams, an internationally renowned television gardening expert, is on the brink of retirement when she locates the child she gave up for adoption fifty years ago. However, the daughter, Caroline, comes with an unexpected complication: a man she believes to be her blood brother and Aphra's son. All three, together with Aphra’s enigmatic assistant Hada at their side, weave a tangled web of survival, choice, love, resentment, and hope. From the botany of Canada to the formal gardens of England; from the intimate and famous historical jardins of France to the deserts of Niger, they explore where blood ends and relationship begins, redefining the very seeds of family in a global modern age.

Douglas Arthur's profile page

DOUGLAS ARTHUR BROWN is the author of seven books. His last novel Quintet won the Thomas Head Raddall Atlantic Fiction Prize. His short fiction has appeared in literary journals, magazines and anthologies in Canada and overseas. He was the publisher and managing editor of the Canadian literary magazine Pottersfield Portfolio for several years. He was awarded an Established Artist Recognition Award by the province of Nova Scotia and has received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his contribution to Canadian culture.