Possibly inspired in part by The Big Chill, this book follows the lives of a loosely linked group of characters from Wellington to the world, through an episodic structure, shifting narrative voice, and a 45 year period of real history. It starts in 1967, with protests against the Viet Nam war when General Maxwell Taylor and Clark Clifford, sent as Special Envoys of the US president, were in Wellington attempting to persuade New Zealand to send more troops. The narrative then sifts forward to 2001, back to 1969, forward to 2004, then to 2010. This technique allows Walker, born in Wellington, to allow revelations about the fate of the characters to be previewed by the reader before he or she knows exactly what has happened to them. This is a powerful and moving book, with some terrific set pieces, and great knowledge of Wellington in the 1960s, portrayed with a very real sense of history unfolding. Worth reading.