Deva, a Brazilian nightclub singer, accepts a mysterious invitation to become the companion to a wealthy recluse living in a London penthouse. Known only as Harry, he suffers from a traumatic brain injury where he rises each morning, having forgotten all that has transpired the day before. One cryptic clue offers a glimpse into Harry ‘s past—a photograph of a man in a field, picking a daffodil. Endeavoring to identify the man, Deva discovers that her own turbulent past intertwines not only with Harry’s but with the unnamed man in the photograph, and that all of their movements are being monitored, even orchestrated, by the doctor and housekeeper in Harry’s employ, who have ties to British intelligence and a dark purpose of their own. Harry’s past memories are the key—but remembering the past might just destroy them all. As Deva is propelled through the layers of intrigue and personal connection, Man Picks Flower explores the deep, lasting traumas of America’s foreign adventures, the labile nature of memory, and what it takes for the damaged to love again.

Praise for Man Picks Flower

“Man Picks Flower is instantly compelling; I read it in two days. A fusion of international intrigue and familial longing, Roger King’s beguiling new novel is something rare: a spy thriller with a loudly beating heart.”

—Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer prizewinning author of A Visit from the Goon Squad, Manhattan Beach, and The Candy House