Dead heat

Max Moreton has built a reputation as one of Britain's most promising chefs, and his Newmarket restaurant, The Hay Net, draws admirers from far beyond the town. His standing takes a sudden blow after a private catered event leaves almost every guest seriously ill with food poisoning, forcing him to close his kitchen. He has little time to recover, because he is still expected to serve an exclusive luncheon for forty in the glass-walled private boxes at the Two Thousand Guineas. The guests are the new American sponsors of the season's first classic race, and Max is determined to give them a memorable day.

The luncheon never goes as planned. A bomb tears through the private boxes, killing members of Max's loyal staff along with many of the guests, and the survivors are rushed to hospital. Max is left to face the wreckage of the grandstand and the threat to his livelihood. Two near misses convince him that he cannot wait for others to act, and he resolves to defend his good name and his own life before he runs out of chances.

The novel is set in the racing world of Newmarket and its famous Classic meeting, where wealth, sport and ambition meet. Its author, Dick Francis, was a champion steeplechase jockey before becoming a celebrated novelist, and his books are known for fast pacing and close attention to the horse-racing community.