Nicky Burkett has done his time for manslaughter and you'd think they'd leave him alone. All he wants is a quiet pint, a pattie on the market and a quick one on the settee. But trouble follows him around. He is attacked. His mates are attacked. He runs to off Jamaica and is attacked again. Then the fight back begins. But trouble follows him around. He is beaten up for no reason that he knows of. So are his mates. All the aggravation in Walthamstow seems to land on his doorstep. He flees to Jamaica but trouble comes there too. It's not all bad though. Beautiful Noreen makes her moves. Nicky's mates come together: black, white and Asian, they defend the honour of Walthamstow. They make plans for a showdown. The dog stadium has never seen anything like it. Nicky Burkett lives a life of his own, funny, violent, loyal and unconquerable. But Noreen wants him to change and he wants her to think he has. He even takes a test for her...IT WAS AN ACCIDENT is the second in the five book Nicky Burkett series, set in Walthamstow, North East London. Like its predecessor, Vinnie Got Blown Away, it is consistently funny, nasty and authentic about crime on the streets of Walthamstow.I T WAS AN ACCIDENT was filmed by Pathe, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Max Beesley and James Bolam.