In the post-war chill, people will do almost anything to stay alive. MERCURY FALLING, from the prize-winning Robert Edric, is an atmospheric story of a man with nothing to lose. 'Shows once more Edric's unassuming yet remarkable talent for conjuring up the lives of his characters' The Sunday Times ________ The Fens, 1954. Many people have lost everything. Others just want the chance to begin again. For Jimmy Devlin, it's a little of both . . . It has been another tough winter. The floods are worse than anyone can remember and Fenlands are alive with blackmarketeers, vagabonds and chancers, all trying to make their way. Forced from his home by bailiffs, Jimmy has nothing to his name and needs to make a fresh start. But desperate people have a knack of finding trouble and he is no exception. It doesn't take long before he's caught in the wrong business with the wrong people and on the wrong side of the law . . . With his keen eye and trademark candour, Robert Edric explores what a man is capable of doing when he has nothing to lose.