'Masterful and beautifully written. Riveting and compellingly authentic. Grips you like a vice from the first page and never lets you go' Damien Lewis

Two men are on the run. They have four hundred miles to go across hostile territory. Soldiers on the ground track them day and night, a helicopter circles above, life becomes a second-by-second fight for survival. Each muscle movement, drop of sweat, glance and instinct matters. Every second counts.

Through long slogs across country, risky raids for supplies, moments of sheer panic, and under the intense pressure to survive, an unbreakable bond between two men is forged. This stunningly written, adrenaline-pumping novel is a little-known classic of its genre.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE FIRST EVER BOOKER PRIZE IN 1969

'England's prose has the tough, spare elegance of steel scaffolding... a brilliant achievement' The Times

An all-guns-blazing action thriller - tense, pacy and irresistibly page-turning. It was shortlisted for the first ever Booker Prize in 1969.

About the Author
Barry England was born in London in 1932 and educated at Downside. He served as a subaltern in the Far East in the early fifties, then worked as an actor before starting a successful career as a stage and television playwright. His best-known play, Conduct Unbecoming, was a huge success in New York. England's first novel, Figures in a Landscape (1968), was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and made into a film by Joseph Losey.

Reviews
Masterful and beautifully written. Riveting and compellingly authentic. Grips you like a vice from the first page and never lets you go
England's prose has the tough, spare elegance of steel scaffolding. His vocabulary is wide, and used with arresting precision. The speed of the narrative is impeccably controlled - long slogs over country, moments of blind panic, passages of demoralizing inactivity, hair-raising evasions, all building up to a central set-piece in a burning field... A brilliant achievement * The Times *
Shocked through with dramatic tension * Irish Times *
Outstanding ... I doubt if there has been a more impressive debut since William Golding's * Daily Telegraph *



Book Information
ISBN 9781784875992
Author Barry England
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Vintage Classics
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 159g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 14mm