The place is St Oswalds an old and longestablished boys grammar school inthe north of England. A new year has just begun and for the staff and boys ofthe school... » 

The place is St Oswalds an old and longestablished boys grammar school inthe north of England. A new year has just begun and for the staff and boys ofthe school a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits paperwork andInformation Technology rule the world and Roy Straitley Latin mastereccentric and veteran of St Oswalds is finally reluctantly contemplatingretirement. But beneath the little rivalries petty disputes and everydaycrises of the school a darker undercurrent stirs. And a bitter grudge hiddenand carefully nurtured for thirteen years is about to erupt. Who is Mole themysterious insider whose cruel practical jokes are gradually escalatingtowards violence and perhaps murder? And how can an old and halfforgottenscandal become the stone that brings down a giant? «