David, a young American in 1950s Paris, is waiting for his fiancee to return from vacation in Spain But when he meets Giovanni, a handsome Italian barman, the two men are drawn into an intense affair After three months David's fiancee returns and, denying his true nature, he rejects Giovanni for a 'safe' future as a married man His decision eventually brings tragedy Filled with passion, regret and longing, this story of a fated love triangle has become a landmark of gay writing James Baldwin caused outrage as a black author writing about white homosexuals, yet for him the issues of race, sexuality and personal freedom were eternally intertwined 'If Van Gogh was our 19th-century artist-saint, James Baldwin is our 20th-century one' Michael Ondaatje