Life Uncovered

Jonathon was head of a typical middle-England family. As Zorba the Greek once said, 'Wife, children, house; the full catastrophe.'

They live in Worcestershire and his wife Katie, and the two children experience the usual financial ups and downs of a rural upbringing. But all is not as idyllic as it first appears.

Jonathon's health scare jolted them out the security of their cosy existence and when the diagnosis appeared terminal, they laid their plans accordingly.

Safaris and sunny beaches in the Indian Ocean beckoned to soften their grief. But there is another side to this tale of a united family; one that makes their holiday more of an adventure than they imagined.

This story involves more than the immediate family circle. It includes a man-hungry au-pair and status-hungry friends. Beach holidays with storms and sailing holidays with calms. Bomb disposal experts with courage and police with patience. It also has a twist in the tail providing challenges all round.