Gwenhwyfar's mother, Helen Odhiambo Lloyd, upon intuiting that her daughter is in love, gives her a ring that has been passed down, with three mysterious books, from endless generations of mothers to their daughters. The ring grants the bearer an opportunity to change three things about her beloved -- but the ring demands things in return for its miracles. Complete with a long narrative poem about Aphrodite, Ring turns the literary romance upside down and shakes out its pockets as it meditates on the past, on magic, on honour, on faith, and yes, on love. Following on the heels of Pastoral, Fifteen Dogs, The Hidden Keys, and Days by Moonlight, Ring completes Alexis's Quincunx, a group of five genre-bending, philosophically sophisticated, and utterly delightful novels.