Following the devastating impact of foot-and-mouth disease, hill-farmer Paddy Fenton is facing financial ruin. When a casual acquaintance offers to lease one of his outbuildings for cash, the temptation of making a little money on the side is too good to turn down. He agrees - and doesn't inquire too closely into what might be happening there. It's the worst decision Fenton has ever made. A police raid on his barn uncovers the production of 'smokies' - illegal meat manufacturing - and the farmer is accused as an accessory. The criminal underworld that Fenton has unwittingly entered stretches far beyond the local countryside. It is down to lawyer Eric Word to rescue Fenton but it soon becomes apparent that meat manufacturing is the least of their worries. Botched operations, a divided and corrupt workforce, and a bleak landscape filled with desperate and disillusioned characters provide the backdrop for Ward's chilling journey into the dark underworld of the north, where it is not always clear who is running, or exactly whom they are running from.
- ISBN10 075052197X
- ISBN13 9780750521970
- Publish Date 1 June 2004 (first published 12 January 2003)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 17 July 2012
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Magna Large Print Books
- Edition Large type / large print edition
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 320
- Language English