Foster didn't set out to be a hero. He only wanted to be left alone, to earn enough to put food on the table and enjoy more than the occasional glass of Jack Daniels Bourbon.

It was working until he met Beryl. She arrived from Australia, took a job in his favourite pub then stole his heart. As if that wasn't bad enough, she was the reason he got put in prison.

When he got out, she had disappeared and Foster tried to forget. A late-night phone call changed all that.

He found himself with the task of rescuing her from serious danger. No, Foster wasn't a hero but he couldn't turn his back on her. There were Debts to be paid.

Set in Onehunga, a small Auckland suburb, a well-meaning blue-collar worker battles an Australian gang of smugglers. He has no skills that can help so relies on luck and determination. It's a combination that spells trouble for somebody.