A novel about heroes, but not heroics. It is a story of men living their lives - quietly and peacefully. But life has its moments when it is neither, when things happen, life changes and men are forced to face themselves. Neil Piggott was a pilot flying Lancasters in World War II. Now he is an old man who likes to potter in his garden. Hidden in the house is the medal he won in the War, the Victorian Cross. His grandson Alex has just met Alyson. She's a friend of his brother Kieran. Alyson has taken Alex into her bed. And told him secrets about his brother Kieran. Neil already knows these secrets. He's faced death before. He can help Kieran face his. The intellectual themes of this novel engage with the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s.