The clock is ticking for Sean O Grady. Today, his psychotic brother has been granted an early release from prison. By tonight, he will come to collect the money Sean is holding. The problem…all the money s been spent. Welcome to a day in the life of Sean O Grady husband, father, and worker in a chicken-processing factory on the outskirts of Glasgow. As the novel opens on another seemingly typical day, Sean s world comes crashing down when he hears the news that his brother Archie has unexpectedly been released from prison. A terrifyingly violent career criminal, Archie is coming home to collect the money Sean was holding for him. But there s a problem: Sean has spent the money, assuming he would have plenty of time to replenish Archie s stash. As the day progresses and tensions escalate, Sean explores increasingly desperate ways of getting back the money. With a tight time frame, shaped by Archie s looming return, Fresh offers the reader a charged narrative full of grim comedy and foreboding, leavened by Sean s natural optimism, resilience, and his habit of slipping into fantasies of a more dashing and glamorous existence.

About Mark McNay

Mark McNay was born in Glasgow and was raised in a former mining village. Upon failing his electrical engineering course, he moved to England where he spent fifteen years doing odd jobs, including construction, factory work, and window cleaning. He graduated from the University of East Anglia Creative Writing Course. He currently lives in Norwich, working with people suffering from mental health problems. Fresh is his first novel.