'Shows once more Edric's unassuming yet remarkable talent for conjuring up the lives of his characters' The Sunday Times

The Fenlands, 1954

It is a tough winter; the temperatures have fallen too low too quickly and the floods are the worst anyone can remember.

Most people have lost everything but there are some who have found themselves eager for the chance at a new start. For Jimmy Devlin, it's a little of both.

Forced from his home by an uncompromising bailiff, Jimmy has nothing to his name and the prospect of work digging urgently needed drains could be the opportunity he's been waiting for. But Jimmy, it seems, has a knack for finding trouble. Before long, he's caught up in the wrong business with the people from the fairground passing through town. But, on the run from the law, he has nowhere else to turn.

With his keen eye and trademark candour, Robert Edric takes his readers to the most desolate of places, to explore what a man is capable of doing when he has nothing left to lose.