The place is St Oswald’s, an old and long-established boys’
grammar school in the north of England. A new year has just
begun, and for the staff and boys of the School, a wind of
unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and
Information Technology rule the world; and Roy Straitley,
Latin master, eccentric, and veteran of St Oswald’s, is
finally – reluctantly - contemplating retirement. But
beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday
crises of the School, a darker undercurrent stirs. And a
bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for fifteen
years, is about to erupt.
Who is “Mole”, the mysterious insider, whose cruel practical
jokes are gradually escalating towards violence - perhaps
even murder? And how can an old and half-forgotten scandal
become the stone that brings down a giant?