When Andrew – a second-hand-book dealer – comes across a pile of photographs from police archives, he decides to exhibit them. But then the gallery is raided the day before the opening, and the photos seized with surprising violence. It soon becomes clear that someone, somewhere, wants to keep the images hidden.

Who? Why? And who – in a world where kidnap, subterfuge and even murder are the norm, and where no one is safe or above suspicion – can Andrew turn to for help?

‘A sophisticated literary thriller set on the seamier fringe of Rome’s gay scene, a magnet for the lonely and displaced located a long way off the tourist trail’ Guardian

‘Charles Lambert writes as if his life depends on it. He takes risks at every turn’ Hannah Tinti

‘Charles Lambert is a seriously good writer’ Beryl Bainbridge

‘A slow-burning, beautifully written crime story that brings to life the Rome that tourists don’t see’ Daily Telegraph