A mesmerising portrait of a young man confined in by his class and the ghosts of his family’s past, dreaming of artistic fulfilment. It confirms Benjamin Wood as an exceptional talent in British literature. ‘One of the finest British novelists of his generation’ Times’A huge talent’ Hilary Mantel’Benjamin Wood is a magnificent writer and I intend to read everything he has written’ Douglas StuartThomas lives a slow, deliberate life with his mother in Longferry, working his grandpa’s trade as a shanker.

He rises early to take his horse and cart to the grey, gloomy beach to scrape for shrimp; spending the rest of the day selling his wares, trying to wash away the salt and scum, pining for Joan Wyeth down the street and rehearsing songs on his guitar. At heart, he is a folk musician, but it remains a private dream. When a striking visitor turns up, bringing the promise of Hollywood glamour, Thomas is shaken from the drudgery of his days and begins to see a different future.

But how much of what the American claims is true, and how far can his inspiration carry Thomas?Haunting and timeless, this is the story of a young man hemmed in by his circumstances, striving to achieve fulfilment far beyond the world he knows.