Scissors : $b A novel of youth

A young English couple and their seven‑year‑old son stand on the deck of an Austrian‑Lloyd steamer as it pushes out of the Bosphorus into the brisk Black Sea. The wind sweeps the spring air cold, while distant Anatolian peaks loom like silent guardians along the shore. Charles Dean watches the passing coastline with a mix of curiosity and reverence, recalling the ancient tales of Jason and the Argonauts that once haunted these waters.

Their lives have become a string of fleeting homes—Amsterdam, Berlin, Bordeaux, and the luminous streets of Constantinople—each stop a brief stanza in a restless song of trade and discovery. When a new commission summons Charles inland to the little town of Amasia, his wife Mary volunteers to follow, setting aside the comforts of England for the unknown landscapes beyond the mountain barrier. Together they face the promise of adventure, the quiet tension of unfamiliar terrain, and the deepening bond of a family that travels not merely for business, but for the sheer love of the journey.