Mary Venner gave up a secure job to travel to the other side of the world to work in foreign aid. She soon discovered that it isn’t always about feeding the hungry and tending the sick. It’s also about red tape and regulation, spreadsheets, computers and accounting.

Mary arrived in Kosovo in the aftermath of the Balkan Wars and found a new career providing advice to politicians and government officials on how to manage their country’s finances. With a wry sense of humour, she describes the strange working conditions, the daily security challenges, and the lively social life of expats living in cities that tourists avoid.

This book provides a first-hand account of the devastation caused by war, the hardships created by government corruption and incompetence, and the problems that need to be solved to make life better in these places. It also provides insights into the lives of the locals who live with the consequences after the foreigners have moved on.