Sebastian Barker's collection weaves a rich tapestry from the powerful themes that have always been central human questions: how we make our journey through life, how we love those around us, what the nature of belief and of our own mortality is. In the opening sequence, Barker contrasts life's ecstasies with the certainty of loss; in 'The Land of Gold' he travels through the blazing spiritual landscapes of South-West France; while in 'The Tablets of the Bread' he faces the temptations of despair head on. All these themes then receive a masterly summation in 'A Monastery of Light', where Greece becomes the poet's door to redemption and the achieved life.