‘A gut punch of a novel’ BOBBY PALMER

‘Thrillingly alive’ ANDREW McMILLAN

‘A storm of a novel’ LUCY ROSE

‘Truly propulsive writing’ IRISH TIMES

‘One of the most gripping novels I've read in a long time’ SAMIRA AHMED, Front Row, BBC Radio 4

A powerful new novel following a young man as he weighs up the life of safety that his parents want for him and another path on the streets outside his door, from the acclaimed author of Good Intentions.

Amir has grown up in Alum Rock, Birmingham, under the care of his sensible older brother, Bilal, and his cousin Saqib, born just a few days before Amir. Alum Rock can be a troubled place, but Amir has managed to keep his head down, worked hard and stayed out of trouble … until now.

When Saqib is killed in a gang fight and Bilal announces his engagement, Amir suddenly loses the two men who keep him grounded. Amir’s university grades are collapsing, he’s running out of money, and pressure mounts from every direction. As tensions flare, the friends left around him start to draw Amir into their more dangerous pursuits, and the family ties that have bound him so completely begin to unravel. Amir decides he only has himself to rely on and must take his future into his own hands.

This is a blistering story of social expectations and social condemnation, of dead ends and divided loyalties, and of what’s left behind when you have nothing left to lose.

‘An unflinching meditation on fractured loyalties … Reminiscent of the great modernists, Ali has written a quietly seething novel’ Zain Khalid, author of Brother Alive

‘A stirring story of love and loss … will stay with you forever’ Saima Mir, author of The Khan

‘A powerful story exploring cultural expectations and what it means to go against them’ Hyphen

‘One of the most exciting writers working right now’ Bobby Palmer, author of Isaac and the Egg

‘I was blown away … Heartbreaking, captivating and real’ Justin Myers, author of The Glorious Dead

‘Devastating … propulsive … Ali once again wields his enthralling, singular voice’ Gaar Adams, author of Guest Privileges

‘Brilliantly involving … Mesmerising’ Harriet Vyner, author of Among Ruins