Annotation
"In the smoky haze of the juke joints of the Mississippi Delta, no one plays the cornet like Lick Holden. With a purity of tone and tenderness of phrasing, his music has a spirit and passion, artistry and sensuality that sets the jazz scene of early-twentieth-century New Orleans on fire. But he is a haunted man, aching for the love that has left him: the beautiful stepsister whom he searches for among the streets, dance halls, and bordellos of the South." "In 1999, Sylvia Di Napoli, a black English singer and former prostitute, is embarking on her own quest. She travels from London to America to find the answer to the mystery of her family's roots - a voyage that will lead her from Harlem to Chicago to New Orleans, revealing a romantic betrayal buried for generations, and culminating with the lifting of a long-cast African curse."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Characters
| Name | Holden, Fortis "Lick" |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Trait | African American |
| Name | Di Napoli, Sylvia |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Traits | Black |
| English | |
| Ex-prostitute | |
| Name | Tongo Kalulu |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Tribal chief |
| Trait | Married |
| Genre | Domestic Fiction |
| Topics | African Americans Family histories Heritage Jazz music Race relations Passing (Identity) Stepfamilies Missing persons |
| Setting | New Orleans, Louisiana |