A satirical romp through the corridors of the Foreign Office as Patrick Stubbs is posted as third secretary in the British Embassy in Lower Africa. Mayhem awaits him - an absent-minded ambassador, a bullying first secretary with a dipsomaniac wife, and a crush on the police chief's wife!

'A marvellously thoughtful farce, a remarkable portrait of contemporary South Africa, combine argument of this complexity with an ebullient comic gift and you have a superb novel' Sunday Times

'Alan Judd's characters are serious. So is Alan Judd. You will laugh like mad' The Times

'Comedy is a deadly weapon and Mr Judd wields it in a fashion that brings you close to tears' Sunday Telegraph