Alan Groombridge had a fantasy. Husband to a woman he didn't like, father of two children he had never wanted, and manager of a tiny bank, Alan was doomed to a life of domestic boredom and tedious routine. All that saved him was that one fantasy: stealing enough of the bank's money to allow him just one year of freedom - one year in which to live a different sort of life. But one day the bank was robbed, the manager and cashier disappeared, and a brutal and chilling nightmare began...

Ruth Rendell, who also writes under the name of Barbara Vine, has won many awards, including the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger and two Edgars from the Mystery Writers of America. She has also won the Crime Writers' Association Cartier Diamond Dagger. In 1996 she was awarded the CBE and in 1997 became a Life Peer.

Ric Jerrom is an actor, writer, and - occasionally - director. He has written plays for radio and the theatre, film scripts and a bewilderingly eclectic mishmash of short stories, poetry and journalism. It took him a while to decide to concentrate on acting; since then he's performed in many radio plays, sundry theatres, and a great deal internationally for the Natural Theatre Company of Bath.