A Still and Woven Blue

"Basically, it's the story of a murder, a straight forward crime of passion in which a poor and lonely artist kills a lovely Chinese prostitute who has befriended him and nursed him back to health. It is the murder and the ensuing trial that entwine the story of this ill-fated pair with the other characters: Merlin Carson, a famous poet who is living out his days as a recluse in Northern California; his nephew Peter, a lawyer assigned to conduct the artist's appeal against the murder conviction; and Clarissa, Peter's mother, who shares with Merlin a sordid, yet moving, family secret that brings the plot full circle." Houston Chronicle