With an introduction by Andrew Martin Fame, success, fortune, a drink problem slipping over the edge into alcoholism, a dead marriage, the incurable itches of middle-aged lust. For Wilfred Barclay, novelist, the final unbearable irritation is Professor Rick L. Tucker, implacable in his determination to become The Barclay Man. Locked in a lethal relationship they stumble across Europe, shedding wives, self-respect and illusions. The climax of their odyssey, when it comes, is as inevitable as it is unexpected. 'Rich as a compost heap ... It moves you and at times it can shake you.' Melvyn Bragg 'A complex literary comedy from an extraordinarily powerful writer, which holds us right through to the end.' Malcolm Bradbury