The truth

Keith Mabbut is a professional writer who, at fifty-six, has not come close to matching the fame of Orwell and Camus, the literary figures he admires most. An unexpected commission changes that. He is asked to write the life story of Hamish Melville, a reclusive figure admired around the world for his activism and humanitarian work.

Mabbut's research carries him to India, where forests, rivers and fragile ecosystems form the backdrop to his inquiry. The more he learns about Melville, the more he respects the man and sees something of himself in a fellow idealist who hoped to change the world. Yet the question of whether Melville is really who he says he is begins to nag at him. The novel asks what the truth is, and whether it can be shaped to suit us.