Acknowledgements

In every novel the usual suspects are thanked, but sincerity is not undermined by repetition.

First my family: my wife Lisa, my mother Frances, my aunt Terry and my sons Tom and Jack.

Next the professionals: James Gill at United Agents; Kate Parkin, Clare Kelly, Francesca Russell, Stephen Dumughn, and (sad to see him leaving) James Horobin at Bonnier Zaffre; Maria Stamatopoulou and Bert Smith at Lincoln College, Oxford.

Finally other friends: Peter and Rachel Cosgrove, Jeremy Tinton, Peter Hill, Sara Fox, Fiona Dunne, Mary and David Palmer, Sanda Haines and Jack Ringer. This novel is dedicated to the latter.