Otto Witte was once many things. But now, sitting in his caravan, drinking what's left of his coffee (dust), listening to the Allies rain their bombs on his city, he is simply scared. And so he's decided to write the story of his life.

It is an extraordinary story, a story about how, with the help of his friends (and a camel), an acrobat of Hamburg became the King of Albania, and fell in love along the way.

"'One of the many pleasures of this novel is to be found in Andrew Nicoll's assured mastery of tone. His style is admirably fluent, capable of moving seamlessly from reflection and comment to rapid story-telling' Scotsman." - Scotsman