Silvio Huonder was born in 1954 in the Swiss town of Chur. After completing his studies in music and the performing arts he worked in the theatre as a director and set designer. He is a prolific writer of plays for both the theatre and radio and currently lives in Berlin with his family. This is his third novel. Previous works include: Adalina (Arche Verlag, 1997); Übungsheft der Liebe (S. Fischer, 1998) Translation rights available from Carl Hanser Verlag Gmbh & Co KG Tel: +49 89 998 30 509 Email: barakat@hanser.de Contact: Frederike Barakat Application for assistance with translation costs – Switzerland Verlag Nagel & Kimche was founded in 1983 and quickly established itself as one of Switzerland's leading publishers. Emphasis is placed on the work of contemporary Swiss authors. In 1998 Nagel & Kimche joined the Hanser group of publishers. Authors include Charles Lewinsky and Uwe Timm.