Ten stories of allure, betrayal, nostalgia, solitude, seduction, damage, desire and loss; of silence broken by the click of a lighter; insomnia defined by a glowing ember; a magician's trick; a lover's scent; a final wish. These are stories that go to the heart of things.

`In this remarkable collection, Stuart Evers winds a course through worlds of yearning, secrets and mortification in prose as lithe as a ribbon of smoke' Wells Tower

`Love, loss and recovery are the real themes of these quiet, haunting stories, which add up into an unexpectedly powerful book. An impressive debut' Aravind Adiga

`Evers has found possibility in even the bleakest and smallest of lives, with each delicately linked not only by a cigarette but also by a glimpse into how terrifyingly empty a life can be' David Vann

`With powerfully understated writing, Evers has an eye for the humor that lives alongside sadness, and above all for the humanity in the smallest of actions' Evie Wyld