From the funked-up, messed-up Brooklyn of the 1970s to the present day, this stunning novel spans thirty years in the life of two best friends, Dylan and Mingus, their families and an entire neighbourhood. From their stories come the history of soul music, of graffiti art, of comic books, of experimented film and 'rock writing'. With a cast of more than a hundred characters and more than fifty speaking parts, this is a touching and intimate novel of an epic scale.