Portrait of a Husband with the Ashes of His Wife addresses themes of destiny and the repercussions of our choices. Before she dies, actress Alma Joncas instructs her husband to bury her ashes where she was happiest. He decides that was their garden. But relatives, friends and Alma's colleagues disagree. After they tell him where they think she was happiest, not only is he no longer sure about the garden, he wonders if he truly knew the woman he was married to for twenty-four years.

Pan Bouyoucas is a Montreal novelist and playwright. Portrait is his fourth novel translated into English. The other three: A Father's Revenge, shortlisted for the Prix Ringuet; The Other, shortlisted for the Governor General's Award; and Anna Why, winner of the Prix des collégiens. Sheila Fischman is the award-winning translator of nearly 200 works of fiction from Quebec, including works by Michel Tremblay, Marie-Claire Blais, Anne Hébert and Yves Beauchemin. She has been awarded the Molson Prize in the Arts and is a Member of the Order of Canada and a chevalier of the Ordre national du Québec. She lives in Montreal.