[4] The novel is written in Harris' typical first-person, multiple-narrator style, with chapters alternating between the voice of Roy Straitley, the ageing Latin master, and that of an ex-pupil known to the reader as Ziggy, who addresses his account of events to someone he refers to as "Mousey."
Only his devotion to the school keeps him going, as well as his affection for his Brodie Boys (the group of misfits in his form, including a girl from Mulberry House).
As past and present intertwine and the old scandal resurfaces, Straitley begins to realize that the Harry Clarke affair is not as dead as he had initially believed, and that his old school friend and colleague, Eric Scoones, knows more about it than he admits.
[7] Harris has cited her time as a teacher at Leeds Grammar School as part of the inspiration for the books, whilst warning readers that any events based on real life are fictionalized beyond recognition.
[11] The novel was critically well received, being described by The Guardian as: "a magnificently plotted and twisty journey," as well as "darkly humorous,"[12] and a "deftly orchestrated and beautifully written tale.