An elusive owner who lives on the top floor but is never seen… customers who turn up after midnight in slippers and dressing gown, driven by an urgent desire for a book about Icelandic myths or pottery... a beautiful and insomniac shop manager who is blind in one eye... The ingredients of David Belbin's intriguing tale take us into a shadowy world that seems to exist somewhere between reality and dream. The mysteries deepen as the story unfolds and then there is also love, never spoken or acknowledged, but somehow amplified amid the hushed aisles and dusty shelves. This is a story for all those who love books and bookshops – or indeed for anyone who simply enjoys a good old-fashioned yarn. David Belbin is the author of The Pretender, Bone and Cane and numerous novels for young adults. His short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies. More can be found in Provenance: New and Collected Stories from Shoestring Press. Includes poems by Jim Burns and Jackie Kay. Cover illustration by Steven Hubbard.