It is 1960. Philip Ayrton, the Warden of Edgecliffe Detention Centre, a facility in Derbyshire for youth offenders, is inching slowly along in a quiet life. The small community which surrounds the centre, and his staff inside it, are his world. His wife Ella is a little dissatisfied, but puts on a brave face his daughter Christine has escaped to Birmingham to study music and his young son John is seeming more sullen and distant by the minute.The latest set of receptions at the centre includes Goole, charged with grievous bodily harm. Philip is struck by Gooles elusive and selfcontained quality, but sees him as young enough to be a candidate for a onetime stay and full rehabilitation. This progressive stance is informed by Philips background before a lapse of belief, he had hoped to become a monk but it is viewed with skepticism by many of his staff. Since faith deserted Philip, he has followed a more traditional path, becoming an archetypal grey man a middle manager in a quietist world. But into this suppressed sphere erupts a disturbing presence the new landgirl at the centres farm, Minty Bates. Young, and beautiful in a painted way, she seems an emissary from the uncontrollable outside world. She has an indefinable quality which fascinates Philip, composed of defiance, vulnerability and manipulation. As their teasing connection gains in seriousness, Philip feels his compass slipping, and unruly flights of obsession and passion intrude into his discipline. But is...

Binding: Paperback;262 pages; Publisher: Michael Walmer; Classification: FC; Weight: 442 g; Dimensions: 133 x 203 x 17

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