As ever, to my parents and family; however far I am from you today, I keep you close inside and think of you each day. Y como no, para Lela, hasta el cielo de la calle. To my love, Camille, the coolest person I’ve ever known. Without you, I wouldn’t be where I am now, in more ways than one. To Moira, my unofficial PR guru, whose home is my own corner of England here in California, I will always be grateful. To my Los Angeles friends Aliyah and Jay, thank you for helping to make this strange city feel like something akin to home.
To Saoirse, without whom this book would not have come to be. Never have I known someone so lion-heartedly open so quickly. I’ll always be indebted to you for your truths and insights. The meaning of your name is freedom and nobody deserves it more – may you have it all of your days.
Para mi compañero, Stewart, the Geoff Horsfield of undiscovered storytelling genius: Inspector Iwata will never not owe you a cheeky pint. And to my brothers in Team KR: all your mums. To my friend cut from the same cloth, the council flat Gorky: Chris, thank you for your letters, in every sense of the word.
Professionally, it’s an honour to once again pay grateful tribute to my editorial dream team: Maxine Hitchcock, Eve Hall and Rebecca Hilsdon—Michael Joseph for ever. Thanks also to Penguin legends George Foster, Gaby Young and Isabelle Everington. (Is this a good point to say any errors in this book are absolutely my own?) And to my agent and numero uno, Gordon Wise. With each day that passes, my understanding and appreciation of your support only grows.
To all the booksellers, reviewers and book folk who helped my novel along; there are no words I know to sufficiently convey my esteem. And of course, to the readers themselves, you are the very lifeblood of this dreamworld you let me live in. I thank you from my nethermost.
And finally, to all the nameless people who died in the US Borderlands in search of a better tomorrow. This book is beneath every single one of them, but it is both for them, and of them. May the dream they died for live on for ever.