Book excerpt: Waking up in an East London hospital, with no identity or recollection of his past, the narrator has no option but to resign himself to a homeless and directionless existence. Adopting the name of Robin Forest, he seeks refuge in a hostel and meets other displaced people who begin to influence his life: Luther, a modern-day Fagin; Charlotte, a suspected drug addict; Adrian, an exiled gay headmaster; Keith, an overbearing bore, hiding from the police; Sniffy, a recruiter for an east end gang.Robin seeks to make a living by negotiating a begging pitch from Luther. He also befriends Charlotte, whose sister Kathy lies in a coma from a heroin overdose.Triggered by conversations with his new found friends, Robin begins to have minor insights to his past life, and to his concern and disbelief, discovers that he is a wanted for drug dealing and murder.On the run, Robin attempts to find the truth about himself and Kathy's overdose, but gets drawn into the criminal underworld of East London.