Bøger af Mike Scantlebury

It is not too far in the future and some things have worked out as expected - in particular, Renewable Energy is now the main source of power. Whether solar panels, wind turbines, wave power, it's all commonplace and available, and to make it less obtrusive onland, most of the electricity generation has moved offshore, onto giant floating islands, that circle countries like Britain. Meanwhile, the world is not as peaceful and progressive as most people had hoped. Inter-nation tensions are widespread, often breaking out into all-out war. Still, many people in countries like Britain feel safe, since these conflicts seem so far away. It is only when the small nation states start falling like dominoes, that the effect becomes clear - there is a World War underway, and nowhere on the globe is safe.The hero of this tale is one person who has tried to help set up defences for the islands of Britain, but he is drawn into the conflict, right where the shooting starts, and he finds himself fleeing from the action, undefended and alone.Meanwhile, the only people who seem safe from these overlapping conflicts are the Gypsies, a new class of mobile adventurers, circling the world in their self-sufficient airships. Only them, it seems, can preserve Civilisation and protect the plant from a grisly end.

Captain Gibson is facing huge political pressure to show his Unit is working to discourage illegal asylum seekers from coming to Britian in small, dangerous boats. He sends his top spy (Amelia Hartliss, or 'Melia') to the South Coast to infiltrate a violent and unsafe new group called 'MEGA', or 'Make England Great Again', (just England, not Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland).Then he instructs his top freelance operative, Mickey, to work with an old colleague, a man called Ian Bann, who makes bombs. The plan is to infiltrate MEGA in the north of England, (around its HQ in Manchester), and sabotage their campaign by supplying bombs that don't work effectively.Then, the Captain sends his Deputy Director, to go undercover and join 'Haychers', a loose amalgam of farmers, land owners and business people, who were going to be affected by the building of a high speed rail link from Birmingham, north to Manchester, and are now suffering even more from the cancellation of the project, even though buildings have been bought, and houses and woods demolished, to make way for the trains.England is in a furious mess, with all these campaigns going on at the same time. The three friends are not even able to maintain contact, since they have such discrete responsibilities, and the lack of a friendly face and active support drives more than one off the rails. While the work continues, Captain Gibson finds his team disintegrating around him.

Mickey's life has changed. It's Good News and Bad News. The Good News is that he can take a rest from international espionage and move into the relatively relaxing world of high finance and property based business. The Bad News is that he's still in a wheelchair, struggling to recover from a bullet, sent to kill him. They didn't succeed, but it's a long and painful road to recovery. (The other Bad News is that the assassins haven't given up, and are still making attempts on his life. Why shouldn't they? They succeeded in murdering Mickey's best friend friend Gulf, the last man to occupy the hot seat of CEO at Corsh Corporation - where Mickey is now, having inherited Gulf's enormous block of shares.)The other News - maybe Good, maybe Bad - is that a German firm called Korrup's wants Corsh to sell them the site of the old Patricroft Armaments Factory, so that the foreigners can assemble weapons for Ukraine. The parts will come from all over Britain, but the guns will be put together in Salford. It will mean jobs and prosperity for local people. People want it to happen. The British government wants it to happen. What can possibly stand in the way?In quick succession, Mickey meets more than one person who could derail such an enormous project. He needs help. What old friends - or new - can Mickey rely on, in such dangerous times?

The World War has come and gone. There is huge damage but real peace. Now the world is divided into three great empires, and the Emperors have gathered to choose the new World President and acknowledge the old one is retiring. There isn't a wide selection for the job, and the pool gets quickly smaller as candicates are deleted from selection, not by vote but by assassination. Who is left to take up the reins, for the biggest job on the planet?Our hero is a mild mannered man but some believe that since he has the most to gain, it must be him that is behind the murders. How can he prove his innocence AND avoid becoming the next victim?

It is not far in the future, but the world has changed out of all recognition.The climate has changed and the warming means that wild animals have moved from the equator into the northern climes. Humanity has had to retreat to Protected Settlements and cities surrounded by massive walls.Still, Artidical Intelligence has taken over all means of production, from mining to manufacture, as well as the production of food. This is delivered to all centres of population through the Tubes, overhead mag lev trains in enclosed, transparent tubes that criss-cross the country, allowing high speed communication and delivery. The system has been perfect for many years. When it starts to go wrong, it's as surprising as it is devastating and life threatening.But most people have lost the will to live. With all their needs supplied, why should they worry? Surely the invisible 'government' will sort out the problems? Only a select few, the Agents, know that such a structure no longer exists. If individuals can't work together, combine their efforts and talents, then what is left of the population will soon fade away.It's a turning point in the history of the world, and the stakes have never been higher.Of course, the animals don't care about this struggle: they still have viable habitats. And the planet doesn't mind. It will continue, whether or not human beings are on board.

It's not many 'Mickey from Manchester' thriller detective novels that have Mickey flat on his back from Chapter 3. Worse, he is in shock. and doesn't even remember his name.Meanwhile his girlfriend Melia is staying at his house, recovering from a terrifying ordeal that Mickey previously rescued her from. It's no help to her Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that some of the perpetrators turn up on her doorstep. Not fully recovered, she has enough wits about her to turn the tables on the arrogant, self-assured little no-good teenagers. With the help of her old pal Terry, she soon has them on the run, and even one of their Dads turns up to apologise on their behalf.The hospital in Salford is crowded during this tale, when another major character suffers a life-changing fall. With two combatants in nearby beds, the mystery doesn't look it will get solved anytime soon, until Mickey's oldest friend Don Fellowes steps in.Still, there is some more good news. The victims in the hospital beds appear to have inherited massive numbers of shares from the biggest property development firm in Salford. If they ever get back on their feet, they will be rich. And important.

Mickey is back in Britain after his harrowing trip to Rwanda. He doesn't expect to be arrested, but in confinement he is reunited with an old friend from his Army days. Her name is Ripley and after escaping, the pair are surprised to be instructed by Captain Gibson, Mickey's old boss in The Unit, to take up an assignment in the North West of England, looking for terrorists amongst recent arrivals to the country.This means Mickey can't slip back into his role as CEO of Corsh Corporation. That chair has been filled in his absence, and though the new incumbent seems completely unsuited to the role, this 'Mr Corsh' (and his assistant, Bread) are keen to plough ahead with Corsh projects, such as rebuilding the old Armaments Factory site in Patricroft. Mr Gibson too favours this activity, since he has been instructed by the British government to start assembling small arms in the new buildings - as soon as possible - and ship them to Britain's allies in Ukraine.Meanwhile, the lower orders in the Corsh hierarchy are ploughing their own furrow. Nirvana and Nina, working in the Finance Department, have their own plans for Corsh funds. This involves double dealing, embezzlement, and construction of new houses 'for the workers', paid for by the Russians! If only if was that simple. Nerve and Nins, as they are known, are also trying to cheat dear old Mrs Turtle out of her inheritance, and that campaign leads to murder.Mickey, for once in his life, finds himself in the middle of investigations, not leading from the front. It isn't any more comfortable than the usual way, especially as his new 'partner', the enigmatic Ripley, seems to have her own priorities - but isn't sharing with anyone.

Mickey is recovering from the trauma of finding his father murdered. It's not that they every got along, but Mickey feels he now has an obiligation to find the murderer, right wrongs and return peace to his city. The killing is a dreadful distraction from his other mission - to find out more about the way that developers and builders are fighting amongst themselves and constructing some of the worst and most unusable buiildings of recent times. Who is in charge? Doesn't anyone care about quality? Is it just an endless chase for profits and gaining good deals for the shareholders?Mickey is, once again, disappointed by Human Nature, but his biggest shock is yet to come. Another preoccupation of his days is to try and find his lost girlfriend. Would she really leave town without telling him? Has she lost all interest in their relationship? Battered, bruised, Mickey cannot even begin to imagine the terrible truth. Whatever he thought might be in his wildest nightmare, the reality is surely the worst thing that has ever happened to him in his life.

Marlie is thrilled to be getting ready for her wedding. The setting is magical, a country house hotel in autumn, set amongst lawns, lakes and forest. But then she is surprised and devastated to see her future bridegroom seized by masked men, and carried away. Frantic, she has to enlist the help of her entire family to recover her man and save the day. Luckily for her, this is the Farley family and nothing, not even armed men, helicopters and guns, can stop them rushing to each other's aid. If the terrorists thought they were going to have an easy day of it, they reckoned without the courage and ingenuity of her sister, her mother, and Marlie herself. Of course, says Marlie, this nightmare is going to have a happy ending. There is no alternative.

Amelia Hartliss, known to her friends as 'Melia' and her enemies as 'Heartless', is not enjoying the pandemic or lockdown. She is finding her life is being threatended, and those who seem like old friends are turning out to be not as helpful as she assumed they would be.Such as Jan Branch. She looks like an unassuming old lady, a helpful retired woman - so why do they call her the 'Gun Running Granny', out in the Far East?And John Lewis. A delightful young man that Melia met on holiday. Did Melia make a mistake in inviting him to 'come and visit her', back home?It's just one problem after another, and most of them go back to the Batter Family, who look like successful business people, but could they be gangsters?Melia is struggling. There seems to be no one she can trust. And the stress is starting to get to her.She has been on this case too long, she tells herself. It needs to come to and end.Of course, a happy ending would be the best. Is that possible?

In 1914 a world war started, caused by the visit of a very important person from a very big country to a very small, ineffective country. That was Archduke Franz Ferdinand visiting Sarajevo, but what if the little place was Salford, in the little country of England, and what if the most important person was a Trade Delegate from the very important country of China?Well, then, anything is possible. A hundred years after the outbreak of World War One then maybe World War Three could start in Salford UK. Fortunately there's something that might prevent such a tragedy and that's Super Agent Amelia Hartliss, known to her friends as 'Melia' and enemies as 'Heartless'. She has been given the very important job of protecting this important visitor, and she fully intends to do that, now matter what - or who - gets in her way.

Amelia Hartliss, Special Agent - Melia to her friends and 'Heartless' to her enemies - is always landing the worst of jobs. Right now, she's been given the task of baby-sitting a candidate in the local government elections. The problem is, that of all the people who have put their names forward, he really is the person most likely to get themselves in trouble. He's never stood before. He's loud, he's raucous. He proudly boasts, 'I know nothing about politics!'So why would anyone vote for him? Because he stirs emotions. He promises answers. He is the 'Business Candidate', he says. He is big, he is bluff. He has blonde hair, broad shoulders and an aggressive manner. Can Melia succeed in keeping him alive until the votes are in? It seems that the man with the knife and the guy with the bomb are going to try and stop proceedings. Then who will win?Melia finds the assignment one of the most frustrating of her whole career.

Amelia is getting pretty tired of all these people who are trying to kill her. It's not just the paid assassins anymore, but the threats seem to be coming from inside her own organisation! Who can she trust? Certainly, not the Deputy Director. A long-time friend and supporter, but he seems obsessed with his own problems right now, including a long-lost daughter. Is she for real? Melia doesn't want to complain, but the constant attacks seem to be overshadowed by the invesigation of historic sex abuse which is consuming all available resources, and spilling over into the life of Melia's cousin, Liv, who is having her own challenges - such as her mysterious disappearing fiancee. Melia needs help, which is probably why she inadvisedly falls into the arms of the New Director, a career Civil Servant who calls himself Durf. Strange, short name for an otherwise unlikely manager, struggling to even keep his computer team in check. Melia looks in the mirror. If I'm going to survive this onslaught, she decides, then it's all going to be up to me.

Please Note: this is Part Two of a trilogy, but it can be read as a Stand-Alone Thriller, with a female protagonist.Terry the computer technician, from Melia's Unit in British Security, has taken it on himself to organise the digs to look for Jimmy Batter's 'Treaure'. He is happy to search every grassy spot in Salford, England for the proceeds of Old Jim's sale of his Takeaway Empire, which he put on the market in 2013. Unfortunately, due to a family dispute, there was no agreement on how to spend the fortune, so all the relatives agreed they would bury the money for seven years, then make a decision. Also, unfortunate, is that not even Jimmy Batter knew exactly where it went - he left those decisions to his older brother Ben. The only clue is that Ben might have used one of Jim's 'Seven Favourite Places' as recorded in a series of videos made that year by Jan Branch, an older lady who has been out of the country since then, since she won a massive amount on the Lottery and decided to travel. Coincidentally she has been forced to come back to supervise disposal of her Mother's house, as her Mum has died. Jan finds herself dragged into the Treasure Hunt, then decides to play it to her advantage. She determines she will find the horde and keep it for herself.Meanwhile Melia, who should be on to of these things, is still recovering from attempts on her life, and at the very first dig finds herself being shot at from a distance, by somebody with a rifle. Luckily she is able to retreat to a flat down on Salford Quays owned by her old friend Romla, a colleague from a former successful operation in nearby Manchester. Romla is distracted by the fact that her rarely seen daughter has turned up, all the way from London. Their paths have crossed because the government in Westminster has asked Annya, the daughter, to go and negotiate with disgraced politician Tolly Tilbury, a former Home Office Minister, who is being held in custody in Salford, pending possible deportation. Annay, a Human Rights lawyer, is the ideal person for the job, she says.Melia has other things to worry about. In an attempt to recuperate she spent a holiday in Spain and there met the most amazing young man, an angel calling John Lewis. Melia, everyone says, is the girlfriend of agent/operative Mickey, but Mickey is so unreliable. Right now he is out of the country, supposedly on a mission given him by Melia's boss Captain Gibson, but he has been completely out of touch, and Melia, lonely is smitten. When John asks for a favour, she readily agrees. He wants her to try and find the location of a friend of his, a journalist, deported from East Africa and currently being held captive by British Security under the code-name 'Prisoner X'. You should be interested in helping this young man, John tells her - his real name is Paul Batter, Old Jim's grandson.When Terry learns of Melia's quest he decides to help her, as does Mr Gibson, but neither colleague liaises with each other - or Melia - so she remains feeling low and unsupported. Meanwhile there there other digs, and other attempts on her life, the worse one culminating in another trip to hospital. While she languishes in a coma, John Lewis appears, but he finds a very harsh 'welcome' back in the old country.The search for Jimmy Batter's hidden hoard progresses but the results are inconclusive, while the search for Prisoner X only yields more suprises and as the book draws to a close the identity of Melia's assailant is revealed, but again, it wasn't at all who everyone was suspecting.Perhaps the story hasn't ended here.

Melia is facing yet another change of boss. Somehow the governments doesn't seem happy unless they're shaking up British Security Services and making the agents uncomfortable and insecure. Captain Gibson isn't around. Some say he has been sent for 're-education'. Meanwhile, a jumped-up little toerag from London has been sent up north to Salford to show the natives how to do stuff. So far, according to all reports, he has been a miserable failure.Meanwhile, an older woman from Melia's past, Jan Branch, re-appears after many years away. Jan's mother has died and she is there to clear her old house and tidy up loose ends. Unfortunately, she is not the same person she was when she left town. Where she lives now, in the East Indies, they call her the 'Gun-running Granny', for that is her new profession. She hadn't planned on staying long, but two things delay her departure. One, there is an Arms Fair in the city and she sees an opportunity to do some deals and make some money. Second, she hears that a successful property developer, Jimmy Batter, has amassed a fortune which he intends to divide amongst his ungrateful family. Unluckily for them, the 'Treasure' is hidden, and although various relatives are falling over themselves to find the money, Jan thinks she has a much better chance than most. After all, she used to be a film-maker, and captured Old Jim on video, back in the day. Those films, made by the group known as 'Co-operative Videographers', maybe provide all the clues necessary to unearth the fortune.Melia might care, but she has other things to do. After the trauma of the last few months, a holiday in Spain led to a liaison with a young man who wants to save an unfairly imprisoned journalist. Melia is eager to help, and for one reason only - she is in love. She doesn't want anyone to know, but John Lewis has stolen her heart. She would do anything for him, and before long, we find out exactly what that is.

The Arms Dealers are in town! Manchester, in the North West of England, is trying hard to pretend that death dealing salesmen haven't taken over their premier exhibition space for the week. Even the elected Mayor of the county of Greater Manchester has set his face against it. Sure, he wants jobs and business to come to his part of the world. But he was hoping for something better, more humane.Not that it bothers Amelia Hartliss. She's employed by British Security, and spying on the event is just another day for her. Except that she meets an amusing young busker outside, singing songs she loves, and she is therefore distressed to find him dead, on the same day!Meanwhile, Melia's cousin Liv is finding life hard at the University, where she works. She is now living on campus, and sharing a flat with her boyfriend Don. But he's a policeman, and never seems to be at home. Other people are looking for him, and she's not sure why, but when people start bothering her, they are drug dealers and gangsters. It distresses her that they all seem to have guns. Where have those come from?If only the cousins could find help, but when Melia reports in to regional Office, she is staggered to find that her boss is serving tea. There seems to have been a complete shake-up of responsibility, thanks to a misguided training course in 'Team Building'. For her, it means she has no team to rely on. She's on her own.Only one more complicating factor, one of the weapons people that Melia starts to investigate is a rather charming young man called Tryst. It gets embarrassing when she ends up in his flat. Maybe they are becoming too close, and it's more than a 'professional' relationship. Melia isn't sure. Mickey is out of town, and anyway, he's not her boyfriend all the time, is he? He's a lot more unreliable than that.She's going to have to watch her step!

Amelia Hartliss is angry. She is a Secret Agent and a skilled investigator, but her boss has chosen to send her on a routine surveillance operation, looking for imported drugs. It's way below my pay grade, she sighs. But she's wrong. The source of the illegal substances is a war-torn country that Britain has a personal interest in, at the highest level. Melia is working for the UK Prime Minister that night, even if she doesn't know it.But is's confusing. The location is an old, dilapidated building in a city park, hidden amongst the trees, the hills and the dells. It's a misty, haunted piece of countryside and there are other creatures living in the woods, It seems that Melia has stumbled onto the Fairy Realm. Who are these tiny bodies - elves and goblins, gnomes? Surely such tiny people are not real, not in this modern century? Still, this is North West England, not the sophisticated South. Anything is possible, it seems, so far away from London. Melia has to persist, even with the merest support from her regular team. There is a real mystery here that needs solving.

Mickey is fighting mad. Someone pushed him into the river and he nearly drowned. Once he got out, his first priority is to find the guilty party, even if it means travelling four thousand miles from his home in Salford, England to the heart of Africa. Unfortunately, he isn't the only one making this scarey journey. The British government has decided they have too many Boat People arriving on their shores, uninvited, and have decided to fly them to the same remote location, a disturbing, politically unstable country, where violence and bribery are commonplace.Mickey is a decent person, and he can't help himself. He has to step in when he sees people being bullied and harassed. It deflects him from his quarry, and puts himself in danger, but with the arrival of some old friends, he is able to master the local culture, the foreign currency, and overcome his usual feelings. After all, he wants to get on with his search. Surprisingly, he has assistance as well as blocks and in a surprisingly short time secrets are revealed. People he has had dealings with in the past are passing through the frightening land, often on their way elsewhere, but they have information. Though most of it is contradictory, it's not brains that is in short supply, but actors - people who have the nerve, the skills, the history and the willingness to take a few risks and do their best. Luckily, Mickey fits that bill. Even though his mind is still fogged and unclear since he was in hospital in England, he successfully manages to pull a team together and foil a deadly plot, earning his way back home in the process.

Melia is confused. So many people are trying to kill her. But why? After all, the first killer she met, while mindlessly climbing the back stairs into her office, was saying that she wanted to target her friend, Terry. But later, she found out that the hit was only intended as a way of getting her attention. No, there's someone else. Could it be Stig Snopes, a woman claiming to be the sister of her dead assistant. How can the woman possibly blame Melia for his death? But she says she does. Then, there's the chance that the daughter of Emil Gorange, Melia's most fearsome opponent had come to Britain to finish the job her father never finished. If only Mickey was there - but he's off on another mission, and Melia's usual supporters, like her boss, Captain Gibson, have been sent packing. Then there's Melia's cousin, Liv, but her boyfriend is a policeman and he's out on an assignment too. It's all getting too much! The last thing she wants, in her fragile condition, is someone coming on to her. But with Mickey out of town, is Melia strong enough to resist temptation?

"Not another Election!" The Prime Minister of Britain has called yet another General Election in the middle of 2017, less than two years since the last one. Mickey is summoned into action to defend candidates and preserve democracy, but where is his usual team? Where are his trusted colleagues? Why has Melia disappeared? Caulfield been transferred? Why is Liv been sent to a Mental Hospital? And who is 'Gulf', and why is he plotting against the Corsch Corporation? All that, all of it, can't have anything to do with votes, surely! After all, Mickey's boss, Captain Gibson, doesn't seem to be worried about any of those mundane, everyday things. He feels more threatened by the British Army and their plans for an immediate coup to replace whatever government there is, elected or not - without a popular vote! Britain today. Who had any idea that things had got so bad, or that they are just about to get worse. For everyone.

Mickey doesn't often make a mistake, but this time it's a bad one and a man dies. Not that Mickey knew Dr Jenner very well, or even understood what the scientist was asking him to do. Mickey had been told the Doctor worked for a multi-national food and chemical company, and that he had got himself in trouble for being a 'whistle-blower', but as to what secrets the researcher knew, or what damage it could cause, Mickey had no idea. But then he finds outs. Mickey goes to see the family and finds they are being harassed. The Doctor is dead but the persecution goes on. Mickey feels sorry for them. It's a dangerous emotion. At first, all he wants to know is who killed Dr Jenner, but investigating that, leads Mickey deeper and deeper into the world of food, trading, chemicals and even Genetically Modified food and seeds. There's big money at stake. Some companies will stop at nothing to make a profit. Is this what Dr Jenner found out? Is this why there's such a crusade against him, his family, and his company? Mickey can't help but get involved. He wants to do what's right, especially after his girlfriend Melia is attacked too. He has to protect her. If only she wasn't pregnant!

Many people are worried that the world is facing an energy crisis, when the oil runs out and the current generation of nuclear fission reactors reach the end of their useful lives and are retired. What can replace them? What can generate the electricity we so deserately need?Some people think the answer is nuclear fusion. It has no residue, and is clean and infinitely replaceable. It is the process that powers the sun. Wouldn't it be wonderful if someone invented a process that worked?Melia thinks she has met such a man. But wait a moment, isn't he a well-known and experienced conman? How does she know she can trust him? How does she know this isn't simply his latest scam? After all, the briefcase he is carrying seems so bland and unimportant. Could it really be holding the key to the future of energy in Britain? That thing?Then people get murdered, and the situation really starts to get serious. Melia is sucked in, fighting not only for the world but also for her family, and a childhood friend, and her memory. If only her boss, the awful Caulfield, wasn't involved too, things would be easier. Who knew the man who she'd always thought of as the spawn of the Devil, had brothers?

It's so simple. Everyone in England wants to own their own house. Why, they'd practically kill for it! Mickey, scouting the dark alleys of South Central Salford for an elusive quarry, The Mandley Park Molester, is dragged into an investigation of deceit, fraud and arson by an attractive young woman, who happens to be a property developer, and a greedy millionairess.Perhaps they can make beautiful music together. After all, as her drippy brother and Mickey's friends from the Fire Department keep reminding him, there's always time for singing!

Amelia Hartliss is having a pretty bad day, dropping in at Salford University to help a friend and finding herself in the middle of a visit by the Prime Minister of Britain. After all, she's complaining: Why wasn't I told? As a foremost operative in the country's most important Security unit, she should have been assigned to protect the man, from dangers, such as attacks and attempted kidnaps. It can't be a coincidence then, that that's exactly what happens, and Melia is the only agent on the inside when it does, while all the other possible helpers are locked out. She tries to keep a low profile, but can't prevent herself being dragged in, putting her body between the leader of the country and those that mean him harm. Perhaps they can come to some accommodation, after all, the PM is willing to listen, but there is a weakness that plagues him - his brother. If Melia can only prevail on him and her Unit bosses to stop escalating the situation, maybe she can cope with the baddies and ensure nobody gets killed.

Amelia Hartliss is used to seeing the worst of human nature, but even she is shocked to see that unscrupulous criminals have made it their business to rip off the most generous charity in Salford. The Booth Foundation has a history of helping people, some of the poorest and most deprived in the city. Surely no one could be so mean minded as to take the bread out of hungry mouths? Unfortunately, that is exactly what is happening. The seemingly trustworthy workers are all now under suspicion, and their links to local gangsters are being explored. Melia needs to grit her teeth and hold her nose as she delves deeper into the excesses she is uncovering. Luckily, she has the help of other colleagues in the Unit, such as computer expert Terry. Even Melia's cousin Stan lends a hand. Unfortunately, Melia's most reliable ally, her boyfriend Mickey, is more of a problem. Where the heck is the man? Why can't he be found when he is really needed?

Everybody in Salford is talking about the Secret Garden Festival: it's affecting everything. Melia, preoccupied with the job her Deputy Director is setting her up with next - protecting Prince William at the Olympic Games - has little time to think about flowers and painting, singing and dancing. She has her little cousin to save. Liv, newly enrolled at Salford University, is making enemies faster than a regicide, but for no apparent reason! What could there be? Why would anyone dislike this beautiful, talented, clever, charming, persuasive young beauty? Is it perhaps the awful things her studies and reasearch are uncovering? Is that the problem?Melia needs to know. It's a race against time - save her cousin Liv before her father dies, and before the Garden Festival comes to an unwelcome and unplanned explosive climax.

Salford in England has been a city since 1270, but it has never elected a Mayor before, not until now. The town has been transfixed by the sight of numerous hopefuls falling over themselves to put their names forward and sieze the prestigious - and well-paid - new position. Greed, ambition, naked scramble for power, all the worst qualities of the human psyche have come to the fore, and Melia is involved, but only because her Uncle has asked for her help in getting a friend of his elected. Later it gets more difficult, especially when Uncle Mart puts his own name forward, and then blackmail, sexual assault and murder get added to the mix. Can Melia win through, or, equally as important, can the good name of Salford survive such a depressing spectacle?

Gold is on everyone's mind, the millions in value represented by a haul of gold bars, that disappeared from Salford's docks in 1966. It seems a lifetime ago, but people are remembering former times, inspired by a local project run by the BBC, called 'All Our Stories'. They're asking people to remember the things in their lives that are most important to them, but perhaps they never realised that once Jan Branch gets her audio recorder out and lays it on the table, mysteries and anecdotes are going to come out that aren't all happy memories. They were tough times, back in 1966, and people did anything to try and make a living. Jimmy was good at it, moving in the business of takeaway food, and making a success of it. But he came from a criminal family: his Dad died, after years in prison, and his brother fled overseas. So why has Ben come back? Why now? What does he want? Melia starts to investigate and has to ask what everyone was thinking: what happened to the gold? Why did it never emerge after 1966?