Anne Fine

Colin is in many ways an ideal citizen. He works for the council.He visits his aged mother, Norah, cooks for her, and listens to her grumbles. He also keeps in touch with his sister Dilys, long estranged from her mother, in a vain attempt to maintain family ties. But neither Dilys, Norah nor Colin's colleagues know about his other, secret life - which involves a garden shed, a circus acrobat, a much adored three-year-old charmer, and a certain Mr Haksar's penchant for squabbling with his neighbours.

What Colin does not know is that, thanks to an incorrectly filled in house insurance policy, his two lives are set to collide, and there is nothing he can do to stop them.