October 9 Fire destroys empty social club

The charred remants of the Hilltop Club gave a gothic silhouette to the photograph Avery had just taken. Few details were clear although he could clearly see the metal spiral staircase still standing, alone. Closing his eyes Avery saw the arsonist climbing up it, hands leaving petrol prints on the handrail, escaping into the sky. The logic of television: surely it was important, the only object left intact.

Whilst the investigator puzzled this, 27 miles away, on the coast, a young lighthouse keeper, filling in long hours studying a distance learning Sociology Diploma  puts the finishing touches to a simplistic account of the disintegration of working class social life, completely unaware of the dramatic events heading his way.