Simon Brown is from a working-class district of Victoria, South Africa. Obsessed with sex and social climbing, he is embarrassed by his mother’s easy way with the local Coloureds and appalled by his schoolfriend’s ambition to join the hard core special Branch. From stuck-up beauty Elizabeth Carter, to Thandi, the fiery young daughter of the family maid, he keeps falling for the wrong girl. As a cub reporter on the local rag, Simon finds himself propelled into the frontline of conflict. When the government declares a state of emergency and family secrets threaten to undo him, Simon is forced to choose: preserve his white privileges or turn law breaker?

The sense of place, the sense of time, the honesty and the messy humanity – I loved it all. A wonderful book! Jimmy McGovern