A name is the first story that attaches itself to a life. Consider mine: Stanley Alban Marriott Obeysekere. It tells of geography, history, love and uncertainty.

Stanley Obeysekere, a wealthy lawyer in colonial Ceylon, is a staunch believer in British justice. When the murder of a tea planter baffles the island, he seizes the chance to solve the case, securing fame as 'our Sherlock Holmes'. But his triumph comes at a price.

With devastating precision, Michelle de Kretser traces the disintegration of a man, a family and a society as change arrives and the empire crumbles. A dazzling and savage novel.