"Without Contraries is no progression." - William Blake

Bertram and Eustace are brothers. Bertram is extroverted, practical, a celebrity and a social success. Eustace is introverted, scholarly and shyly oblique. They understand neither themselves nor one another. Instead, they tell one another stories.

Only two people see through their defences: their cousin Mimi, a retired violinist who lives in 'Tartini's Rest', and Kariba, a literary genius from Africa, Bertram's nemesis and Eustace's fraternal friend...