Leo D'Lance

One Night With Finnbar Leo D'Lance

Imagine you go to a party with someone you think you know, but really don't. You have a good time; maybe drink a little too much. At the end of the evening your friend takes you back to your place where that night the unthinkable happens to you. The next morning the police are at your door. They arrest you because a dead body was found in your alleyway. Not so hard to imagine, right? It could happen to anyone. It happened to Finnbar 250 years ago. One Night With Finnbar is a tale of blackmail, betrayal, and murder set in 1767 London. On a visit to the family country estate Martin Atwater discovers a strikingly handsome bond servant called Finnbar. Martin convinces his uncle to allow him to take Finnbar to be trained as his army orderly. Back in London Martin lapses into the lifestyle he has vowed to leave behind. He has embezzled £2,000 from the family business to cover his gambling debts. In addition to a gambling addiction, Martin has sexual appetites that, if found out, could send him to the gallows. Finnbar is turned away from White's Gentlemen's Club where Martin stays but finds room-and-board at a coach and livery stable. This could be the solution to his problem, but trouble follows Finnbar. When the head stableman falsely accuses him of attempted horse theft, Finnbar is sacked from the stables! Desperate to avoid being sent back to the estate, he finds work carrying a sedan chair; a job which takes him into the most dangerous parts of London. Edmond Mattox, a menacing figure from Martin's past, appears on the scene to exact revenge and settle a deep-rooted vendetta. He stalks and then blackmails Martin. To satisfy Mattox's demands, Martin sacrifices Finnbar. In a white-hot rage Martin kills Mattox, then carelessly leaves Finnbar to take the fall for murder. Martin struggles to rescue Finnbar from the executioner's noose while staying just one step ahead of constables and bank examiners. Fate brings Martin and Finnbar together. Twenty-seven days later, fate tears them apart. One Night With Finnbar is a timeless and compelling tapestry exposing the grotesque realities of life in 18th century London in a way that can never be forgotten. (Contains graphic sexual scenes.)