Haunting novel about time and identity set in post-war 'fast set' Britain. A brilliant new novel that is quite different from the wonderful Ferney but which has some of the same qualities. Memory and coincidence play a strong part as the narrator, himself trying to escape a passionate relationship, endeavours to piece together the remarkable life of the man who used to own an old trunk, stuffed with letters, bought in a street market. Racing driver, lover, officer, but maybe not gentleman, con-man, liar, thief -- as the fascinating portrait of the trunk's owner evolves, so the narrator is drawn deeper and deeper into a story with strange connections to his own life.