Errol Oldfield is under pressure, from the past and from his present actions, his fantasies and sexual jealousies, the drinking, the paranoia, his very personal demons. Dirty Laundry is set in the contemporary North East, in the space between town and country. Errol works part-time in the shabby Thrifty Miss Betsy discount shop and supplements his income raiding the till and by salmon-poaching. His spends all of his money on the sexy divorcee Maxine, Desdemona of the thrift stores. But Maxine's mind is on other things, not least the star striker for the city's Premiership football team. She's the goal machine's secret good luck charm. Don Taylor's powerful first novel brings James Ellroy, via Dennis Potter, to a contemporary Britain haunted by con men, surreal capers and cruel passions.