Hemispheres

A Novel of Family, Birds and Coming Home

Yan is a compulsive gambler whose wanderlust leads him on a chain of adventures across the South Atlantic and beyond, in the wake of the Falklands War. But this personal voyage takes a heavy toll on his relationships with wife, Kate, and teenage son, Danny, left abandoned in a run-down pub on the northeast coast of England. After 25 years Yan reappears, terminally ill and determined to make amends before his death. Despite Danny's reticence, the two men begin to reconnect through the unlikely medium of birdwatching, as Danny tries to piece together the truth about Yan's desertion and protracted homecoming. Set against the stark industrial landscapes of the Tees estuary and the wilder shores of the South Atlantic, this is an Odyssey for the 21st century, a story about fathers and sons, about isolation and human connection, and ultimately about the healing power of the natural world.