In the early 1950s, an 11-year-old boy in Colombo boards a ship bound for England. At mealtimes he is seated at the cats table—as far from the Captains Table as can be—with a ragtag group of insignificant adults and two other boys, Cassius and Ramadhin. As the ship makes its way across the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal, into the Mediterranean, the boys tumble from one adventure to another, bursting all over the place like freed mercury. But there are other diversions as well One man talks with them about jazz and women, another opens the door to the world of literature. The narrators elusive, beautiful cousin Emily becomes his confidante, allowing him to see himself with a distant eye for the first time, and to feel the first stirring of desire.
