J is a successful burglar, with a house full of 'well-selected antique furnishins', a wife with an 'enhanced front', and a talent for acquiring hooky gear. But when a break-in goes badly wrong he finds himself betrayed and deserted by the people he trusted the most. Emerging from prison, J is torn between good intentions and the desire for revenge, but as the strands of his life continue to unravel before him, he becomes an unlikely, and ultimately tragic, hero. This is an engaging novel, by a writer with a really strong voice. Read the first two pages and you will be hooked. 'This is a fine literary novel with an ambition to be greater than a gangster-police thriller. Barlay has achieved his goal and more.' Telegraph