The place of St Oswald's, an old and long-established boys' grammar school in the north of England. A new year has just begun, and Roy Straightley, Latin master, eccentric, and veteran of St Oswald's, is finally - and reluctantly- contemplating retirement. But beneath the petty disputes, little rivalries and everyday crises of the school, and darker undercurrent stirs. And a bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for thirteen years, is about to erupt.

Who is 'Mole', the mysterious insider whose cruel practical jokes are gradually escalating towards violence - and perhaps murder? And how can an old and half forgotten scandal become the stone that brings down a giant.

Read by Derek Jacobi.

6 hours on 6CDs / 4 Cassettes