'On essaie de trouver les couleurs qu'on a reve.' - Jacques Brel In Evian, on the shores of Lake Geneva, Lucy sells tickets at the cinema. In the hills above the water, her brother believes himself happily married to a woman he once tried to find by swimming across the lake. Their childhood friend, Fabrice, is returning from the quiet confusion of Canadian trees and the brief memory of his girlfriend in Toronto. Into this relative stillness comes Alain, escaping Geneva's necessity of human contact. But a budding relationship between Alain and Lucy forces them all to reconsider the ways in which they try to talk to each other. To the songs of Jacques Brel and with the lake as a constant presence, Lucy, her brother Jean-Luc, and Fabrice struggle to make themselves heard among the clamour of failing words and misconceptions, leading to potential crises for them all. This interwoven story of love, family and our inability to make ourselves understood leaves you wondering if language can ever be more than guesswork, and if so whether anyone can ever be heard. And for Alain, tangled somewhere in the middle, "Lakes, of course, are pointless." 'A compelling story of human relationships. Holloway's intriguing characters struggle to communicate in a world steeped in images of language. A hugely enjoyable read.' - David Crystal 'A novel with poetic undertones that explores the tensions between communication and miscommunication, between narrative drive and inertia, to produce and expose a rich pattern of interconnections.' - Nigel McLoughlin, Professor of Poetics & Creativity, University of Gloucestershire"