Two families live side by side in a middle-class Montreal neighbourhood: the Frasers, who emigrated from Scotland in the 1960s, and the Vantwests, who left life on a tea plantation in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) around the same time. For decades these two families, with their secrets and sorrows, remain two solitudes – until tragedy opens their doors.

Since he was a child of seven, Rudy Vantwest has carried on a fantasy relationship with Clare Fraser without ever acting on it. Now in his early thirties, having returned to Sri Lanka intending to settle, he is still writing imaginary letters to his unblemished, untouched muse. Clare, meanwhile, is belatedly discovering her sexuality, making blundering attempts to turn a bad platonic relationship with an employer into a worse physical one. Her halting journey of self-discovery takes her from Vancouver to her mother’s hometown in Scotland.

It seems improbable that these restless souls will connect, but that hardly matters: the two family stories are absorbing in themselves. This fine first novel has much to offer: comedy and tragedy, domestic intimacy and panoramic sweep. The early scenes of childhood take time to come into focus, but once Burt’s characters hit puberty, the novel gains steadily in authority.

Burt, who grew up in Montreal and now teaches creative writing in Vancouver, mines her own travels to dramatic effect. The passages set in Sri Lanka, with its lush, oppressive heat and explosive violence, are especially vivid. It’s impressive too how Burt is able to bring to life such a large cast of characters – neighbours, old friends, relations – in a complex story that shrinks the globe.