Three stories - one of rainbow and cloud over a hippy New Age, another of flowers and frost in a country house dream, a third of a compost of culture accumulated over the 20th century. From the redwoods of California to the beech groves of the Thames Valley into the chiaroscuro of a 'fond Europe of the imagination' - these tales add up to a Dantesque triptych of what remains of value after the words have been said. The cover of this book incorporates a photograph of the Circle X trail by Tanya Thompson. The back cover includes a photo of the author taken at the Shakespeare & Company literary festival, 2010.