Book excerpt: All Thomas Mirren wants is a simple life. He's an old man now, after all. On his ninetieth birthday, while selling poppies, Thomas interrupts two shoplifters. To get back at him, they start a rumour that the former soldier had never served in the army. Just an old man pretending to be a hero. But who would believe such a thing? Ian Rogers is a journalist. Things are quiet in the office, but then one day, he's handed a story: something about a military imposter. Someone is claiming that Thomas Mirren is a fraud. And it seems there's no record of the old soldier either. Could there be something to it? In a world where perception is reality, does the truth even matter anymore? Does the past matter? Well, it matters to Thomas Mirren, and it looks like his past is about to catch up with him.