A story of mud and metamorphosis. It traces a singular journey through grief with the steady rotation of the potter's wheel and the dizzying heights of St Petersburg's rooftops. Unsentimental, sometimes awkward but like clay, repair evolves slowly and rarely predictably. Part love letter to Russia's cultural capita, part meditation on transformation, this is an unrestrained, humane, optimistic and sometimes humorous account of acceptance -- of how making something useful, from mud, can bring unexpected strength, hope and ultimately beauty.