Do we live on in some conscious form after we die, that is capable of communicating with the world of the living? "Aye, right." That was Jack Parlabane's stance. But this was before he found himself in the more compromising position of being not only dead, but worse: dead with an exclusive still to file. From his position on high, Parlabane relates the events leading up to his demise, largely concerning the efforts of charismatic psychic Gabriel Lafayette to reconcile the scientific with the spiritual by submitting to controlled laboratory tests. Parlabane is brought in as an observer but he soon finds his certainties crumbling and his assumptions turned upside down. Perhaps, in a world where he is an elected rector of an esteemed Scottish university, anything is possible. One thing he knows for certain, however: Death is not the end - it's the ultimate undercover assignment.

Chris Brookmyre was a journalist before becoming a full-time novelist with the publication of his award-winning debut QUITE UGLY ONE MORNING, which established him as one of Britain's leading crime authors. His Jack Parlabane novels have sold more than one million copies in the UK alone.