Cello States escapes his troubled past in Corduroy—a life shadowed by drugs and gang violence—through his love of books and language. When his father's criminal dealings force him to flee, Cello spirals into crime until he reaches Melbourne, where he encounters Oya Seyesene, a half-Sri Lankan woman whose world of beauty and grace stands in stark contrast to his own. Their unlikely connection becomes a turning point as two people from vastly different worlds are drawn together.
