Out of the blue Simian Hayes receives a call from the Cardiff Royal infirmary, his father has died as the result of a massive heart attack. From that moment on, Simian puts the meaning of his life in question, his career and his relationship with Amelia, in fact everything he believes in, comes under scrutiny.
The stress of bereavement clouds his judgement and he starts making mistakes, with his wife, with his father's girlfriend and finally and worst of all, with himself. Before he really understands what's happening, he ends up on the Costa Blanca in Spain, where he gets caught in the property whirlwind and buys a villa by the sea. A few months later Simian and Amelia leave England for the coast and even though on the surface things are working out, his life is on a downward spiral.
We meet Simian after he has hit bottom, slowly he's getting to his feet but he's bewildered, bitter and cynical. However there is someone willing to help him out of the darkness, but to be able to follow her into the light, he must tell all.
Sometimes funny, sometimes chilling, but always honest and gritty, Scratching the Surface tells how Simian came to be on the coast and what happened to him when he got there. The story also follows him on his journey away from an unhappy past into a warmer and more welcoming future.