When lowly civil servant Ben Anscomb's luck deserts him, he opts for a walk on the lawless side of life. Jobless and wifeless, he draws up his very own Theft Chart and sets about earning his living through a series of systematically planned felonies. Confident in his ability to avoid the cock-ups of the commonplace crook, he proves to be a singular thief. From the author of 'Barry Braithwaite's Last Life' and 'Spanish Journals - The Posthumous Diary of an Expat', an amusing and instructive tale of criminal capers in which the question, 'Does crime pay?' is finally and all but conclusively answered.