The novel concerns the adventures of “Mike”, who, recovering from a failed marriage, falls in with a clique of hard core northern rock climbers and becomes immersed in an intense and inward-looking lifestyle in which climbing is so important that “real life” is all but excluded.

Mike is initially fascinated by this rather strange group of people and is in awe of their focus and technical competence on the rock, while their obvious incompetence in more mundane areas of life only seems to increase their glamour.

The pivotal event is the death of the enigmatic “Sanky” who falls 30 feet from the 5b crux of a climb he has soloed without difficulty many times in the past.

His friends cannot believe he has died on an undistinguished climb that was well within his technical competence and seem to have difficulty understanding the obvious fact that a 30-foot ground fall is more likely to result in death than a twisted ankle.

Harrison does find beauty in this sometimes harsh and occasionally post industrial landscape but in keeping with the general tone of the book his eye is sometimes rather jaundiced.