Phoenix in the Blood

Jay Williams is a young, intelligent man of Jamaican descent who, after receiving his PhD in history, is doing his National Service in the Intelligence Corps. He is learning Russian in a small language school in the textile town of Rainford, England when he meets Caroline Grey. Caroline is a young girl—only 15 years old—who is more lonely and broken than anyone should ever be. The two start a strange (and platonic) relationship that causes something of a stir. The townspeople understandably whisper about the relationship, and when Caroline’s mother finds out she forces its end.