The novel also deals with prostitution in the city's care homes, where protagonist Nick Cane is tutoring Jerry, the underage girlfriend of a dealer.
Belbin's other protagonist, Sarah Bone, MP, meanwhile, is suspected of murder, putting her ministerial career at risk.
Reviewing the novel in The Guardian, Cathi Unsworth wrote "It's a story rich in resonance: of how New Labour sold out, leaving the children of cities such as Nottingham easy prey for organised crime; and a perceptive study of how the abuse of girls like Jerry is fuelling one almighty tinderbox.
"[2] Joan Smith in The Times described it as "a smart novel that recreates the heady atmosphere of Labour’s first months in power".
In an essay about the book, Belbin describes how he avoided naming the Labour Home Secretary and discusses the ethics of using living figures in a novel.