Man At Sea

Shades of Brian Moore's Lies of Silence abound in this no-holds-barred debut... Bell resists cliches and stretches the tension out to a bitterly abupt end in which there are no winners. - The Guardian on 'So It Is'

MALTA 1941. The war has created a soldier-saluting adventure for eleven-year-old Joe Zarb, until a telegram arrives with news of papa, Victor. 1961. A nurse and a former RAF pilot travel to Malta. Beth is looking for Joe, the son of her wartime husband, Victor. Her companion, Stuart, is seeking revenge for horrific burns suffered in the war.

"requite (verb): to return love and affection or, on the other side of the coin, to retaliate for injuries inflicted.” MALTA 1941.

Eleven-year-old Joe Zarb's life is about to change. The war has created a rubble-strewn, dogfight-watching, soldier-saluting adventure, until a telegram arrives with news of his papa, Victor, that will shatter everything. Twenty years later, with Malta seeking independence from the British Empire, a nurse and a former RAF pilot travel to the island. Beth is looking for Joe, the son of her wartime husband, Victor. Her companion, Stuart, is seeking revenge for the horrific burns he suffered in the war. When they find Joe and a man purporting to be his papa, a chain of events is set in motion that sheds new light on what happened two decades before...