Village teacher, Matt Kreasey, is reduced to paranoia when confronted by the roughnecks he must teach at his new inner-city post in London. Between flickerings of reality and delusion, his love for his student Amy is strained. Could she be one of those always gathering with the hunting knife that has already ended the life of a colleague - and can a paranoid now stop himself from destroying she who might have loved him?

A psychological suspense as poignant and powerful
as Nickford’s last book Aristo’s Family:

“The first few chapters are atmospheric; intriguing. They made me want to keep reading. The beautifully observed characters and exotic setting have all the makings of a first class novel.”
Barbara Erskine

“The promise of the opening chapters is more than well maintained. This novel is a real page-turner. Worthy of comparison with the early John Fowles’
The Magus - but distinctively Raymond Nickford”
Allen Synge

“An atmospheric, vibrant, almost spooky page-turner
that might easily become something of a cult.”
Reay Tannahill

Cover illustration: from a watercolour by Rose Chapel.