Philip Bartels, an old friend of Peter Harding's, calls him out of the blue for advice about his marriage, a call that unwittingly sets them both out on a fateful journey, for the shy and respectable Philip - Barty to his friends - has met and fallen in love with the tempestuous Lorna but finds himself unable to leave his dull but loving wife. Peter offers some advice but after he too has met the passionate Lorna he also finds himself in love and begins to manipulate events in order to satisfy his own desires, finally with devastating and fateful results. FIVE ROUNDABOUTS is acknowledged as one of thriller writer John Bingham's masterpieces, and in his specially written foreword JOHN LE CARRE explains the value and the importance of Bingham's writing and why this particular book - an enormously exciting story of crime and passion - should be recognised as one of the last centuries great psychological thrillers.