Robert Sinclair and his wife, May, move to New York City's Gramercy Park area at the height of the Great Depression. Robert is a playwright, May an aspiring actress. As Robert attempts to begin his career and to keep the love of his glamorous wife, he also struggles to overcome the insomnia that plagues him--though, paradoxically, it's on his solo night walks around the city that his best ideas come to him. But finally, desperate for a good night's sleep, he consults Mrs. Amalfi, the Sleep Specialist, who has her own mysterious past. As a background to these characters' stories is the enigmatic Orson Price--with whom Robert has a final encounter that will change his entire life. Kitty Burns Florey is the author of nine previous novels as well as the nonfiction best-seller SISTER BERNADETTE'S BARKING DOG. THE SLEEP SPECIALIST, based on family stories she heard from her parents, who were married in 1933, brings to life a difficult but amazingly vibrant and hopeful period in American history.
