A comprehensive novel about being different. Peter is not entirely black - but black enough. In any case, too black for the circumstances into which he is born in 1946 as the son of a Viennese conductor and a US soldier. Later, he leaves Vienna and ends up in a piano bar in New Orleans. At the piano, he tells his life story. Vienna and New Orleans, black and white, joy and despair are the counterpoints of a tale that, like some melodies, is unforgettable.