Lucky's

In 2002 Emily Main arrived in Sydney from London to cover a story for the New Yorker about a chain of Greek Australian restaurants that had operated successfully for many years but now were no more. On her seventh birthday Emily had been given a painting of a Lucky's restaurant and she wanted to know if there had been a connection between the owners of the restaurant chain and her father. She also wanted to investigate why a young man murdered staff and customers in the one remaining Lucky's restaurant in 1994.

The story is told using multiply stories and time frames which can be confusing but eventually began to make sense about half way through the novel. This style allows the reader to understand some of the background of the characters' lives that lead to revealing why events may have occurred and why people reacted the way that they did. 

It is a story about migrants to Australia from Greece but also an American who returned to Australia after World War II. It is the story about generations of families, their relationships and about love. It is also Emily's story as she tries to discover more about her father as well as more about herself and how she wants to really live her life. But mainly it is the story of Vasilis Mallios, known as Lucky, and how he created and lost a chain of restaurants but always had hope that he might find success once more.