My wife has bought me a pub for Christmas. Or rather, she has allowed me to buy one for myself. Soon, I will be able to drink at cost price and entertain customers and friends in my front room. What's more, I will actually be paid for enjoying myself instead of shelling out to visit other people's pubs - So begins A Year Behind Bars, the diary of one man's attempt to create the perfect pub. The story of a memorable year of near-disaster, occasional triumph and continual farce is destined to become, like the traditional corner local, a much-cherished classic.