Spirits at the village pub are sagging. Trade is slow, and harassed landlord Horace and his gorgon wife Glad fear their dream of a package holiday in Spain may never come true. In the early Sixties what passes for excitement in Nether Snuffingham is the twice-a-year livestock market behind the pub - and Glad posing as Boudicca for the Women's Institute calendar.
Local reporter Des Crow is scratching round for stories too, so they concoct a stunt aimed at grabbing headlines and boosting trade. But they get more than they bargained for when the cricket-fan vicar, Alf the village bobby, and old Frank the poacher become involved.
The Five Horseshoes is a wry and light-hearted novella featuring off-beat characters and eccentricities of village life that readers will meet again in the The Animal Man, first of David McDine's new trilogy.
It is sure to appeal to fans of Tom Sharpe, Alan Sillitoe and Gerald Durrell alike.