Susan Frobisher and Julie Wickham are turning sixty. On the surface Susan has it all - a lovely house and a long marriage to accountant Barry. But life has not been so kind to Julie. Then Susan's world is ripped apart when Barry is found dead in a secret flat - or rather, a porn dungeon.

'Talent. You've either got it or you haven't'. Not true, actually. This book draws on research to reveal that, far from being some abstract mystical power fixed at birth, ability really can be created and nurtured. It explains what is really going on when apparently unremarkable people suddenly make a major leap forward.

The author takes you inside the world of popular music - not just a creative industry, but a business that has made people rich beyond their wildest dreams. He balances seductive anecdotes - pulling back the curtain on the gritty and absurd side of the industry - with an insightful exploration of the relationship between creativity and money.

In a ruined world, what survives are the tales we tell. It begins when Poppy, who speaks the languages of wild things, travels east to the mountains with the wheeled and elephantine beast, Lyoobov. He's seeking answers to the mysteries of his birth, and the origins of a fallen world.