Six friends head for Jamaica to take part in the Negociate Classic, a notoriously tough and dangerous deep-water swimming race. Beautiful, rich, and favored by fortune, they ooze confidence and success. Jeremy Hutchison doesn’t belong with these golden people, but his dogged admiration and enthusiasm—not to mention his money—have earned him a place. But beneath the surface this is a group on the edge of crisis—none more so than Jeremy, who is playing for the highest stakes of all. As the race approaches and the tension builds to an excruciating pitch, the friends turn from each other to face the doubts and secrets of their own lives. Taut and engrossing, this is a compulsive read from an unflinching observer of human folly. But even as Knox peels away the layers and exposes the brutal reality beneath the façade of friendship, he hints at the possibility of human kindness and the redemptive power of love.
Author
Malcolm Knox was born in 1966. He grew up in Sydney and studied in Sydney and Scotland, where his one-act play, POLEMARCHUS, was performed in St Andrews and Edinburgh. He has worked for the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD since 1994 and his journalism has been published in Australia, Britain, India and the West Indies. His first novel Summerland was published to great acclaim in the UK, US, Australia and Europe in 2000. In 2001 Malcolm was named one of the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian novelists. He lives in Sydney with his wife Wenona, son Callum and daughter Lilian. His most recent novel, A Private Man, was critically acclaimed and was shortlisted for the Commomwealth Prize and the Tasmanian Premier’s Award.
