Usman is visiting post-war London from Pakistan when he meets a young aspiring artist called Lydia who has, like himself, come out of an unhappy marriage.

Just as the lonely strangers' friendship begins to blossom into something deeper Usman has to return to Karachi, leaving Lydia behind.

Two years later, Lydia abandons her life in London and boards a ship to Karachi, where the two are married. But as the years flit by Usman feels a growing distance between them. He realises that he hasn't noticed the buds of the gulmohar tree unfurl, and that he has lost sight of his love for his wife.

Review:
'A lovely, strange and very moving novel. The colours and shape develop as you read while the couple’s mutual understanding moves forward and upward over the years like two branches of blossom meeting at the top of the tree.'—Ruth Padel

Author
Aamer Hussein was born in Karachi in 1955 and moved to London in his teens. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.