A Tiny Speck of Black and Then Nothing

A young woman on a journey of self-discovery in Japan is plunged into danger when her friend disappears, in this novel from an award-winning author. Anna Layne was only nine years old when her mother abandoned the family home and returned to Japan without her. Raised by her English father, Anna has spent the following years trying to come to terms with this estrangement. Now twenty-one and a recent college graduate, she is teaching English at a high school in Osaka and hoping to connect to a culture—and a mother—she wonders if she ever knew. Settling into a community of young Westerners, Anna befriends Loll, an enigmatic nightclub hostess. A fellow British expatriate, Loll spends her nights in the smoky haze of the Moonglow bar, flirtatiously entertaining the city's elite businessmen. She and Anna grow close, but many aspects of Loll's double life remain a mystery. When Loll suddenly disappears, Anna fears the worst. But their mutual acquaintances insist that Loll was flighty and prone to vanishing. Others say she was depressed. Meanwhile powerful figures—possibly linked to Japan's criminal underworld—bombard Anna with questions about the missing hostess. Desperate to learn what has happened to Loll, Anna's quest for answers will uncover not just hidden truths about her friend's life, but also her own family's secrets.