Abe Stone is a 61-year-old alcoholic with a Henry VIII fixation going through his third divorce. When he starts receiving letters from his dead mother, Evelyn, he is thrown into a late-stage identity crisis. His fourteen-year old grand-daughter, Lucille, is expelled from school and the unlikely couple embark on a quest to work out what Evelyn is trying to impart and how Abe can begin to put his dishevelled life in order. 'A fine debut novel: highly readable and hinting at even better to come.' The Herald '[A] superb debut novel ... Like the best tragi-comedies, it is written with a pin-sharp sense of character, isn't afraid to take swings at the deepest subjects and can spin between the two modes at will.' Scotsman