Already a veteran of two wars - in Europe and Korea - PC Richard Bourton has joined the Met later in life than most of his fellow trainees on the rough streets of Notting Dale, a grimy, unloved corner of West London. It is hard for him to fit in. Amongst the bomb-sites and boarding houses, Bourton stumbles on a man who has been beaten nearly to death. This discovery, in the swirly fog of 1952, will either make or break his nascent career. Author BiographyDominick Donald was brought up in Britain and the US before studying at Oxford University. Since then he has served in the British Army, been a tutor in Spain, taught creative writing in Japan, worked for the UN in New York, and earned a PhD from London University. He has written editorials for The Times and reviews for The Guardian and The TLS. He now leads geopolitical analysis for a London political risk consultancy.