Michael Holroyd finds an extraordinary story to tell of his own family His Swedish mother was born three months prematurely after a terrible fire which killed her two-year-old brother His Anglo-Irish father met her on the North Sea, but their marriage soon failed all four of their subsequent marriages were illegal, Michael was sent to his eccentric grandparents to be brought up In parts a detective story, family saga and self-discovery, this is a very English tragi-comedy