The most subtle and gifted writer in contemporary Spanish literature Boston GlobeNo one else anywhere is writing quite like this Daily Telegraph A thrilling new literary offering from the acclaimed author of The Infatuations and A Heart So WhiteFor a while she wasnt sure that her husband was her husband. Sometimes she thought he was and sometimes not...Berta Isla and Toms Nevinson meet in Madrid. Young and in love they quickly decide to spend their lives together never suspecting that they will grow to be total strangers both living under the shadow of disappearances. Toms halfSpanish and halfEnglish has an extraordinary gift for languages and accents. Leaving Berta to study at Oxford he catches the interest of a certain government agency and its mysterious agent Bertram Tupra. Toms is determined to evade the agents attentions but his fate is sealed by an escalating series of events that will affect the rest of his life and that of his beloved Berta. Finishing his time at Oxford he returns to Madrid to marry her already knowing that the life they planned has been lost forever.Darkly gripping Berta Isla examines a relationship condemned to secrecy and concealment to pretence and conjecture to resentment mingled with loyalty. With meticulous insight and understanding of the human soul Maras examines the urge to change our destiny and the hopeless exile we bring upon ourselves.