Impact — Rosalind Minett

Post-war, July 1945. Bill Wilson's evacuation is over. He's a reluctant passenger returning home to a dirty and damaged London, heart-breaking miles away from the foster home he loves. Worse, his manipulative cousin Kenneth will be sharing his Wandsworth home. As the two boys struggle through adolescence in the severe austerity of 1940s London, Kenneth sets out to torment good-hearted Bill. Everything Bill has, everything he does, everything he wants, Kenneth is there. Even Bill's icon, the Cossack sabre, isn't safe from Kenneth's invasive grasp. Tensions rise to a climax when Kenneth dates Bill's heart-throb. The emotional explosion has a terrible fall-out. Everyone in Bill's world suffers trauma and life-change. Can he resolve matters in the chivalrous manner he's studied? How long must he live with the suspense of retribution?