1963. The year the Beatles first top the charts. The year Martin Luther King has a dream. The year Truman Bird moves his family from their home in Brighton to a dilapidated caravan in the Ashdown Forest - then disappears.

Truman's a charmer, a chancer, a liar. He's always got away with it, too. But now he's gone a dangerous step too far and only has one day to put things right - before he loses everything.

For Truman's wife, Christie, life has not turned out the way she'd imagined. How has she, that young girl of not that many years ago, ended up like this? In a caravan. With three children. And an absent husband.

Honest and unsettling, yet ultimately uplifting, this unique, wise and addictive British debut weaves themes of love, betrayal, family and childhood, and shows that even though life has a habit of getting in the way of dreams, people find their own extraordinary ways of bouncing back.

Piatkus' super lead debut for 2014. Huge run of deluxe bound proofs for trade and publicity. Early reader reviews and word of mouth buzz building. Major online social media and nationwide publicity campaign. Dedicated author website and Facebook to come.

About the Author
After graduating from Leicester University, Mark Haysom had a thirty year career in newspapers during which he rose from trainee journalist on a local weekly to Managing Director of Mirror Group. In 2003 he moved into education as head of a large Government agency. In recent years he has served on the boards of a number of charities dedicated to overcoming poverty, disadvantage and addiction. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Leicester University in 2005 and the CBE in 2008. Mark lives in Brighton with his wife, Ann. This is his first novel.

Reviews
The book is bound to succeed. This novel is both original and stylish * Irish Independent *
This first novel places Haysom up there with the literary luminaries * Country Style *
The characters in the novel are strongly drawn and engage the emotions. In just a word or two, Mark Haysom seems able to evoke the pain of a deserted parent or the fear of a little boy * We Love This Book *
Funny and heartbreaking * Good Housekeeping *



Book Information
ISBN 9780349403892
Author Mark Haysom
Format Paperback
Page Count 448
Imprint Piatkus Books
Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
Weight(grams) 300g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 128mm * 29mm