Martin Lomax has never wanted to play by the rules – a spell in the Air Force taught him that much. But when his parents threaten to sell their country hotel, the Bali (named after a trip to see South Pacific ), he is forced to take on some of life’s responsibilities. But while Martin does his best to play up the idyll of lazy days and wicked nights, his regulars are somewhat the gin-swilling Mrs Chetwynd-Stapleton, a widow of sixty; Adam, equally hopeless in life and love; and rich but paranoid Rodney with his latest trophy wife, Julie. Then, one not-so-enchanted evening, two very different people walk into the Bali – and change the atmosphere for ever. The first to arrive is bubbly, buxom, auburn-haired Laurel Sherman; the second is Edwin Catchpole, a more than unwelcome blast from Martin’s past – and to say that he is a vicious brute would be flattery. And whilst Laurel naturally qualifies for the maitre d’s five-star treatment, Martin finds the chance to even the score with the man in room seven is also very tempting … ‘Zany, with snappy dialogue and nice, throw-away lines, the story carries a genuine sense of the lonely tragedy beneath the chuckles’ - Sunday Express ‘Crackles with aphorisms … a powerful novel’ - Daily Express Guy Bellamy was born in Bristol. Having completed his national service with the RAF in Germany, he went into journalism and worked on newspapers in Cornwall, Bournemouth, Brighton and Fleet Street including the Daily Express and Sun . His books include The Secret Lemonade Drinker and The Nudists . Bellamy died in 2015.