The Plough

Joanne Berry's university days are brief and disappointing. What is it about the men in her student house that makes them all so ridiculous and pathetic - and stick up for Heather when the trouble begins? And what is it about the towering and dishevelled hotel on the outskirts of the town, where Joanne gets a job as a waitress, that makes everyone inside it so strange and secretive ... and ugly. None of these questions is as important as the ones Joanne asks about herself. Who is she? And what has she done?

This is a short novel about what we see and what we don't. It's based on my own university experiences, but I imagine there's something of Joanne in most people.