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, Cal is a haunting love story in a land were tenderness and innocence can only flicker briefly in the dark.

Bernard MacLaverty lives in Glasgow. He has written five collections of stories and four other novels, including Grace Notes which 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.

This new addition to the Vintage list coincides with the Vintage publication of MacLaverty's Booker-shortlisted title, (Grace Notes. Cal) is the classic story set in Northern Ireland.