The novel is set in and around the iconic Art Students League in New York City where 20th Century stars of the art world studied and taught. Here, Bert Kossoff teaches painting when he is not cloistered in his studio. His wife Ruth defends her husband's distance and tolerates his infidelities for the sake of their daughter. Sonata at age 18, lacking purpose of her own, is drawn to the mystique of her father in his world of artists and models. There...