<DIV>During the 1960s the Krays and the Richardsons dominated London's criminal underworld. Once they were locked up, the Smiths became the dominant force. But now the Smiths are in trouble: Old Tom Smith is dying and rival organizations are moving in. Dave Smith, Tom's eldest son, must take charge of the manor and make the crucial decisions in a world where the money and power of the drug trade are inescapable magnets. This compelling novel moves through three generations, from the slums of the 1930s to the horrors of Dunkirk and the Blitz, from the bombed city and the Londoners under siege to the '80s, where another kind of siege is taking place. I. K. Watson's striking novel is a story that spans some 60 years of passion, bereavement and of a vendetta that can only end in bloodshed.</DIV>