Eric Grounds is a former soldier, businessman, charity director and Olympic sportsman. He has lived in Northumberland for more than sixty years, having arrived there as a little boy with a crewcut and a pronounced American accent. British and French education changed the accent and the nationality, which allowed him to be appointed as High Sheriff of the County in 2006.
In 1974, British Army intelligence expert and Olympic fencer, Edward Davidson receives a desperate call from his Irish informant; but when he tries to meet, he narrowly survives an IRA ambush.
