In this third novel by Ali Smith, after "Coincidence" and "It Was, But That Was the Truth," both published by Al Mada, two entirely new literary adventures, the novelist departs from traditional narrative fiction, presenting us with a work based entirely on intellectual associations, personal impressions, and digressions. This work is Ali Smith's own; it is entirely subjective. The idea for writing it occurred to her while she was visiting the Italian town of Ferrara, which contains ancient halls and palaces featuring frescoes by unknown artists from the fifteenth century, when the venerable East family ruled the town and Duke Borso was preparing to be installed as its ruler. Rulers, title holders, and palace owners cherished grandeur and pomp, and to achieve this, they recruited the best painters to decorate their palaces with paintings depicting them alongside famous Greek gods. Borso, the owner of the palace known as the "Palace That Never Knows Boredom" or "The Boredom Killer," Palazzo Schifanoia, had hired a talented young painter named Francesco del Cossa. The paintings were arranged in rooms named after the months of the year, each representing a Greek god.