Set in the Northern Ireland of the 1980s,Caltells the story of a young Catholic man living in a Protestant area. For Cal, some choices are devastatingly simple: he can work in an abattoir that nauseates him or join the dole queue; he can brood on his past or plan a future with Marcella.

Springing out of the fear and violence of Ulster,Calis a haunting love story that unfolds in a land where tenderness and innocence can only flicker briefly in the dark.

Bernard MacLavertylives in Glasgow. He has written five collections of stories and four other novels, includingGrace Noteswhich was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the Saltire Scottish Book of the Year Award. He has written versions of his fiction for other media radio and television plays, screenplays and libretti.

A haunting love story set against the grim backdrop of fear and violence in Northern Ireland.