At the end of his sorry life

Teddy Everett, reluctant heir to the Everett fortune, realises that he may have been at his best when he was 14, the night Kebreth made him a communist by rubbing coffee bean oil on his face.

Then he was with Lucy, who gave him Chinese burns and taught him how to smoke. As he remembers his family, his wives (and their lovers), he tries to understand what happened to that boy.

Fuelled by caffeine and full of vituperation, this is a riotously original debut of honour, cowardice, and bravery.