A 'whole life' novel from William Boyd, the author of Any Human Heart. Set in the 19th century, the novel follows the fortunes of a man as he tries to negotiate the stages, adventures and vicissitudes of his life. He is variously a soldier, a lover, a husband, a father, a friend of famous poets, a writer, a bankrupt, a jailbird, a farmer, an African explorer - and many other manifestations - before, finally, he becomes a minor diplomat, a consul based in Trieste (then in Austria-Hungary) where he thinks he will see out the end of his days in tranquillity. This will not come to pass...