In this contemporary morality tale, as profound as it is witty, two old friends meet to pay their last respects to Molly Lane. Both had been Molly's lovers in the days before they reached their current eminence, one as Britain's most successful modern composer, the other as editor of a quality broadsheet.

In the days that follow Molly's funeral the two friends will make a pact that will have consequences neither has foreseen. Each will make a disastrous moral decision, their friendship will be tested to its limits and one of Molly's other lovers, the Foreign Secretary, a notorious right-winger tipped to be the next prime minister, will have to fight for his political life.

And why Amsterdam? What happens there is the most delicious shock of all in this enjoyable fiction brimming with surprises.

Reviews

“with Alan Bates reading, HarperCollins has scored a palpable hit that captures perfectly the McEwan menace.”
Times 5/12/98

“Alan Bates has the luxury of an unedited text, which he delivers in a rich, fruity timbre, with both ease and pleasure.”
Observer 17/1/99

“Deliciously sharply written, this tale of moral dilemmas is superbly read by Alan Bates.”
Express 19/12/98

“Bates conveys that he is enjoying the book, especially the tightly realised descriptive passages and the racy narrative.”
Financial Times 12/12/98