As two low-class Englishmen climb the social ladder, James Knight becomes a respected lawyer while Oliver Thirst becomes a career criminal. Knight marries an American woman, but Thirst seduces her and they marry. However, he is an abusive husband and she is accused of killing him. Now husband No. 1 has to defend her. A study of the British class system.
John Patrick Burdett is a British crime novelist. He is the bestselling author of Bangkok 8 and its sequels. He is a former lawyer who lived and worked in Hong Kong for twelve years. For a time, he was employed by the Hong Kong Government. He later worked in private practice. Burdett never really wanted to be a lawyer (he studied English and American Literature at Warwick University where he specialised in Shakespeare and metaphysical poetry), but chose that profession out of despair during the British economic and political crises of the 1970s. After amassing sufficient funds he decided to abandon law and pursue a career as a novelist. Burdett now splits his time between France and Bangkok and continues to research his novels in various locations in Thailand. - Wikipedia
