This is a novel that portrays a love affair between two men in the late 1950s. In turn, they each tell their story in their own voices.

The men are British. One of them is a young wardrobe assistant. The other is a stuntman who had served in action during World War Two. The pair meet on the set of a film being shot on location in Italy.

The younger man–19 when the book begins–is from a working-class background in the north of England. He is newly inducted into London’s furtive gay scene at a time when sex between men is illegal and there's an ever-present risk of arrest or assault.

The other man is 32, troubled by his sexuality and ill at ease with his stunt colleagues on the film. Deeply shaken by an accident that kills another stunt performer, the stuntman first encounters the younger man casually.

Then, by chance, the two meet later at The War Cemetery at Salerno. Stranded on their return to the location base, they spend a night together in Amalfi, and—on this occasion—a tender relationship develops. But they must keep their affair a secret, and just as the stuntman begins to experience an emotional awakening, he is talked into performing a perilous stunt.

David Goudge is a former member of the BBC Radio Drama Company. He narrates his own novel.