Attila, a Ghanaian psychiatrist visiting London to deliver a conference keynote speech, is an internationally respected expert on PTSD. Jean, an American, is a biologist, studying urban foxes on a short-term EU contract. They bump into each other, literally, on Waterloo Bridge in London. By coincidence, they meet again a few hours later, through their joint efforts to help a homeless man and his dog. After that, the two strangers go for a drink and their stories begin to intertwine.

Personally, I was more drawn to Attila, ‘a man so tall he appeared to be wading through the crowd’. His physical stature is matched by his big heart. When it becomes clear that he must take responsibility, not only for finding his missing niece and her child but also for rescuing his former lover, Attila steps up without hesitation. A childless widower, he is alone in life through circumstance, not by choice. In spite of, or perhaps because of, the horrors he has witnessed in theatres of war, he loves to laugh and passionately enjoys the good things of life. He relishes flavours, and asks to be seated close to the kitchen in restaurants, so that he can enjoy the appearance and smells of the dishes being carried past. Whenever an opportunity offers, he dances.