On the outside the Avenue appeared so peaceful but this is a story of turbulent change, of boom and bust, mass unemployment, new freedoms and restrictions, the Blackshirts, and jazz.

Jim Carver a tough, resolute war veteran, he returns from the trenches to build a better life for his family to find his wife dead.

Archie Carver Jims eldest son, smart, ruthless, he has a quick eye for financial profits and beautiful women.

Elaine Frith seductive and ambitious, she uses her charms to snare the man she thinks will give her wealth.

The First World War ends and the soldiers return to the peaceful Avenue. On the surface their homes look just the same but behind the carefully tended front gardens everything has changed and their families lives in the next twenty years will be as turbulent as any they have known.

"Highly recommended. Combines tension with a splendid sense of atmosphere and vivid characterisation. An excellent read" - Sunday Express

"Mr Delderfield's manner is easy, modest, heartwarming" - Evening Standard

"R F Delderfield is a born storyteller" - Sunday Mirror

"Sheer, wonderful storytelling" - Chicago Tribune

"It is always a pleasure to read R F Delderfield, because he never seems to be ashamed of writing well" - Books and Bookmen

"He built an imposing artistic social history that promises to join those of his great forebears in the long, noble line of the English novel. His narratives belong in a tradition that goes back to John Galsworthy and Arnold Bennett" - Life Magazine