’Tony Parsons’ second novel is full of wit and piercingly sharp observations, but is written with such warmth and humour that, like Alfie, you will find it impossible not to become immersed in and touched by this story of love, sex, tragedy and redemption’

--Daily Mail

’The same combination of self-deprecating humour and well-intentioned bafflement that endeared Man and Boy to millions of readers... A kind. warm. affectionate book’

--Observer

Alfie Budd found the perfect woman with whom to spend the rest of his life - and then lost her. He doesn’t believe you get a second chance at love.

Returning to the England he left behind during the brief, idyllic time of his marriage, Alfie finds the rest of his world collapsing around him. He takes comfort in a string of pointless, transient affairs, and he tries to learn Tai Chi from an old Chinese man, George Chang.

Will Alfie ever find a family life as strong as the Changs’? And can he give up meaningless sex for a meaningful relationship ?

Tony Parsons’s brilliant new novel is about love, family, sex, Tai Chi and the human heart.