'A novel which has something to say and which says it well and truthfully' Evening Standard

In the shadow of Hadrian's Wall, two young men chafe at the constraints of rural life and yearn to break free from the courses set for them: John Foster, driven hard by his tyrannical, ambitious father on their tenant farm, and Arthur Langley, reluctant inheritor of his father's waning estate. Though class has long kept their neighbouring families apart, the pair form an intense friendship - until John makes the mistake of falling for Arthur's mercurial sister.

'The effect of the book is massive. Characterisations are loving, deep and perceptive' Sunday Times