He wasn't thinking about the job centre. Wasn't thinking about any sort of work that was going to be advertised. He was thinking of the world Drummond now inhabited. He was thinking of the money. He was thinking of the life . . .

Two friends, Alex Glass and Oliver Peterkinney, look for work and for escape from their lives spent growing up in Glasgow's most desperate fringes. Soon they will become involved in one of the city's darkest and most dangerous trades.

Meanwhile, the three most powerful rivals in the business - Marty Jones, pimp and sometime lender; Potty Cruickshank, member of the old guard; and Billy Patterson, brutal newcomer - vie for prominence. Before long, violence will spill out onto the streets, and Peterkinney and Glass will find themselves at the very centre of a war. As the pressure builds, each will find their actions - and inactions - coming back to haunt them. But it is those they love who will suffer most . . .

Praise for Malcolm Mackay

'Gripping and vivid, with a labyrinthine plot involving double- and triple-crossing . . . Mackay succeeds magnificently' Guardian

'Mackay ratchets up the tension like a master' Daily Telegraph