"This is the story of Ellie Crowther, a spirited, original and forthright woman who becomes a painter of distinction. But her canvases continue to be haunted by a presence she thinks of as her shadow man. Ellie is fourteen and living with her mother at the Woburn hostels in Lower Hutt when the novel opens. There is much she doesn't understand - about mean and love and sex, especially. She begisn her journey into adulthood alert to its disappointments but also finding talents and passions - and enough love - to sustain and enrich her in unexpected ways. As the story progresses, Ellie comes to understand and eventually make peace with her shadow man."--Back cover.