Robinson is a persuader. He uses his voice to win and manipulate, and the narrator of this novel knows he would still fall for Robinson's charm. It led him into the night-world of Soho, of seedy pubs, sexual fantasies, violence and betrayal.

In this powerful evocation of the grey avenues and suburbs of Irish London at their most hopeless, O'Grady comes home from jail at the height of Thatcherism ...