From the Orange Prize-winning author of We Need to Talk About Kevin comes the most entertaining novel about illness and death one's ever likely to read and asks the uncomfortable fiscal question: how much is one life worth?

Shepherd Knacker has been saving all his working life for a one way ticket away from the daily grind. When he sells his handyman business for $1million, 'The Afterlife' seems tantalisingly within reach. Yet his wife has concocted one reason after another why now isn't the time to go. Determined to take the plunge, Shep announces that he is leaving for an island off the coast of Tanzania: with or without her. However, Glynis has an announcement of her own - she needs his health insurance.