There is Myra, a proud, sensuous, hardworking woman who finds blessed release in her own restless desires; Odile, Myra's defiant teenage daughter who risks her one chance to escape the family's poverty; Sebastian, Myra's senile father who has begun to follow his fantasies into a world of trouble; Slim, Myra's worthless street vendor boyfriend who spends as much time seducing young women as he does selling cheap trinkets; Jacob, the once-famous West Indian stickfighter who thought the hero in him was long dead, until he meets Myra. And Rory, the boy next door whose desperate need for Odile's love may destroy everything before the rains come.

Through a delicate interweaving of their stories, "A Thirst For Rain" reveals in each one of them the same soul-deep thirst for love, for wholeness, for a better future that poignantly reflects our own daily struggles and most intimate needs. It is a wise, heartfelt, and shattering novel that marks the arrival of an impressive new voice and will remain in the reader's memory long after the last page is turned.