Loss

Loss is a major theme in this novel. Because Dawit is immortal, he has outlived almost everyone that he has come to love. He lost Rana, his first wife, to death in childbirth. He lost Adele to the hate and ignorance of men during the Civil War era. His child, Rosalie, grew old and unfamiliar to him after he left that family when the Searchers came looking for him. Now that David has a new family, he has decided that he does not want to lose them as well. As hard as he tries to keep from losing Jessica and Kira, however, he still winds up losing both of them.

Loss appears to be especially hard for a man who is immortal. Teferi, one of Dawit's life brothers, has gone mad. The other brothers reason that it is because he spent too much time among the mortals. Khaldun...