Pedro Moore leaves the nurturing yet destitute home of his grandmother on Isabella Island to join his mother Isis, who works as a domestic in Montreal. Pedro brings with him the memories of his island, the teachings of his beloved grandmother, and a desire to know the secret identity of his father. Behind the Face of Winter is a coming-of-age novel that takes place in a Montreal in which immigrant youth totter on the edge of self-destruction and oblivion. Thomas's language is spare, and his crackling dialogue and use of patois compares with the best in Caribbean literature. This is a brilliantly evocative novel sure to leave its mark on the reader.