From the author of Mayflies, an irresistible, unputdownable, state-of-the-nation novel - the story of one man's epic fall from grace. 'Extraordinary.' MARINA HYDE 'Pitch-perfect.' OBSERVER 'An utter joy to read.' MONICA ALI 'Majestic.' INDEPENDENT 'A masterpiece.' JOHN LANCHESTER 'Addictively enjoyable.' GUARDIAN 'Sensational.

' IRISH INDEPENDENT A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL FICTION He always knew: when his life came tumbling down, it would occur in public. May 2021. London. Campbell Flynn - art historian and celebrity pundit - is entering the empire of middle age. Fuelled by an appetite for admiration and the finer things, con-troversy and novelty, he doesn't take people half as seriously as they take themselves. Which will prove the first of his huge mistakes. The second? Milo Mangasha, his beguiling and provocative student. Milo in-habits a more precarious world, has experiences and ideas which excite his teacher.

He also has a plan. Over the course of an incendiary year, a web of crimes and secrets and scan-dals will be revealed, and Campbell Flynn may not be able to protect himself from the shattering exposure of all his privilege really involves. But then, he always knew: when his life came tumbling down, it would occur in public.