Crawling at night

the long version

"Ito is a Japanese sushi chef, recently arrived in New York City, haunted by his past. Mariane, an alcoholic waitress in her 30s who longs for the baby daughter she left behind in Virginia, exudes a frail, broken beauty that captivates Ito. There is something in her that reminds him of Xiu-Xiu, the prostitute he frequented in Japan while his wife, Tomoko, slowly wasted away from cancer, a loss soon compounded by another, violent death. These two virtual strangers scramble for salvation over the course of two nights in downtown, down-and-out Manhattan. When Mariane is fired, Ito leaps at the opportunity to be her savior: he vows he will help her reclaim her baby, her sobriety and her dignity. Their stunted blossom of intimacy is all awkward fits and starts, revelation and self-preservation the delicate yet harsh experience of the emotionally wounded and fiercely, desperately lonely."--BOOK JACKET.