It is autumn in Z_ric, a coastal resort on the Adriatic coast. Benni, a young teenager, lives a humdrum life caring for his ailing widowed father and dodging the school bully. His only opportunities for escape are the trips he makes to explore the local flora and fauna. Mareo, middle-aged and secretive, works at the local historic Bazilijk_, has served time in prison for an unnamed sex crime and has now assumed a new life and identity as part of a rehabilitation programme. The calm of the sleepy town is shaken by a series of gruesome murders. Meanwhile, Mareo's safety is threatened by a new law that would allow his identity and guilty secret to be revealed to the community. As fear and violence take hold of the community, the lives of these two characters collide. Zero Sugar In The Next Life explores the nature of childhood and old age, the function and dysfunction of family, and the themes of forgiveness and retribution. This lyrical, moving and at times uncomfortable tale is Martin Pevsner's eighth novel.