Now that it was happening, it felt unreal, like a dream.

He had been outside before, of course. At the open prison where he had finished his sentence, he had undergone a carefully-planned resettlement programme, beginning with escorted expeditions into the nearby town.

Stephen Dawes had served ten yeras of a life sentence, and today he had been released on license, for authority was sure he would not kill again. He had carried no gun...

Stephen would never again take for granted the freedom to breathe fresh air. But could he let the past bury itself?