Dying Days — Ken Fry

Scott Anderson is terminally ill, and is not expected to live much longer. As an ex-RAF officer from World War Two, operating in Bomber Command, he has come to realise that once he is dead, there will be no one to pass on what he knows about his life; what he did with it, and the lives of his ancestors. He wants his adult children to know about his history so they, in turn, can pass it onto their children. It's important, he thinks, to know where you come from, your roots and your heritage. He begins to dictate his story to his son Hugh. It's an extensive and highly surprising account of Anderson's wartime experiences and his early life. He also reveals the whereabouts of a large, locked wooden chest, which is only to be opened once he has died. Inside, he says, they will find part of their inheritance. In fact, what Anderson's children find in the box will ensure that their lives will never be the same again. There was, it seems, a darker reason for his deathbed revelation, and the box contains a shocking legacy that will impact deeply on all their lives and, in doing so, will take them around the world.