Four men gather in a London pub. They have taken it upon themselves to
carry out the last orders of Jack Dodds, master butcher, and deliver his
ashes to the sea. As they drive towards the fulfillment of their
mission, their errand becomes an extraordinary journey into their
collective and individual pasts. Braiding these men's voices, and that
of Jack's widow, into a choir of sorrow and resentment, passion and
regret, Swift creates a testament to a changing England and to enduring
mortality.
"Swift has involved us in real, lived lives...Quietly, but with
conviction, he seeks to affirm the values of decency, loyalty,
love."--New York Review of Books
"A beautiful book...a novel that speaks profoundly of human need and
tenderness. Even the most cynical will be warmed by it."--San Francisco
Chronicle