A dual-time feast for the senses from the author of A Taste of Green Tangerines. It begins in Java 1200 years ago and at the end even peeks into the future. It centres around the relationships formed by an archaeologist as she searches for a lost palace. The binding elements are the ever present volcano, and of course the mysterious wild beauty of tigers, a beauty which could symbolise the island of Java itself. Romance, danger, history and mystery blend together into a charmingly readable tale about a truly fascinating place.
When archaeologist Tess Dickenson arrives in Java she is determined to find the lost capital of the ancient Kingdom of Mataram and to bring its treasures to light.
Yet as she pursues her search, she is confronted by a seemingly impossible memory of running through rice fields with a dark eyed boy and by an overpowering fear of the still active volcano, Mt Merapi, visible from the terrace of her house. At the same time, she is torn between intense feelings for two very different men, Philip Dunhill, the local head of the office financing her project and Barry Gellert, the irrepressible anthropologist who rides into her life on a red motorcycle.
Barbara Bisco is the author of two novels, both of which are set in Asia where she spent the last thirty years, much of it in Thailand and Indonesia. Whilst in Asia, Barbara worked for the National Museums in both Bangkok and Jakarta. She also worked with orangutans and tigers at the zoo in Jakarta. Her daughter was born in Indonesia and the whole family thinks of it as a second home. Although London is now her first home, Barbara is originally from New York and has a bachelor's degree from Harvard as well as a Ph. D. from Cornell. Her short stories were published in the book 'Short Stories of Bangkok and Beyond'.
