By day Daniel Travers draws cartoon chickens and by night he is confused by Daphne. Her instinct for rebellion leads them to Yurayama theme-park to sabotage the character-acts. All that stands in their way is public opinion, Michael Miller, the melancholic park-supervisor, and a bang on the head.

My younger brother's name is Nicholas Beard. On a family holiday in Cornwall in 1978, Richard and Nicholas are in the sea, jumping the waves. Suddenly and inexplicably Nicholas is out of his depth and then, shockingly, so is Richard. Years later, haunted by grief, Richard sets out to piece together the story.