The crumbling marble angel is Vega’s most ambitious restoration project yet, but she thinks she can manage it, if she could just find somewhere to house the statue while she works. Her father, Vince, has the solution: the abandoned Seafarers’ Hotel, which sits alone at the end of a winding coastal road, offers both the space and the quiet Vega craves.

The hotel also holds other surprises, however. The chandeliers are home to dive-bombing canaries, the ballroom occasionally hosts a troupe of tango-dancing farmers, and one of the bedrooms is occupied by an inept handyman who might be even more broken than Vega.

As Vega restores the fragile angel to its former glory, can she also find a way to pick up the pieces of her life and begin anew?

Mette Jakobsen has a PhD in creative writing and a BA in philosophy. In 2004 she graduated from NIDA’s Playwrights Studio and several of her plays have been broadcast on ABC Radio National. Her previous novels are The Vanishing Act, shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize in 2012, and What the Light Hides.

‘A wonderful story told with a voice that I wanted to listen to. A voice that will stay with me for a long time.’ Sydney Morning Herald on The Vanishing Act

‘Jakobsen has written a very special book, a tender and considered exploration of how we love and how we cope with loss.’ Adelaide Advertiser on What the Light Hides