“... ringing. They’ve maybe finished their hot drink and adjourned to the chapel. I suppose I could ring later, only ... ’ She looked at the coins waiting in Mr Ransome’s hand. ‘I’ve put my money in now.’ Mr Ransome gave her a pound and she took the other 50p besides, saying: ‘You don’t need money for 999.’ She put the receiver down and her ...”

“... The strangers, it transpired, owned the house and everything in it, hence their concern to find a ring that had mysteriously disappeared. There was no suggestion that I had any part in this, but perhaps I could help them find it? Throughout this agonising consultation, I could feel the box under my bed glowing, its heat reaching up through the mattress and ...”

“... a building worker in Brunei; so is the teenage boy from Shanghai indentured to a Chinese crime ring in New York. Refugees, too, are migrants. Often they share their route to safety with others who are not seeking asylum: the smuggling syndicates known as snakeheads, which induct Chinese women into a life of semi-slavery in Europe and the US, also ran ...”

“... of one of the largest mental asylums in Ireland. I was struck by the fact that the name didn’t ring any bells with David – after all, he was a psychiatrist, and interested in the history of his field. But I caught hold of myself. Why should it be a surprise that the Ballinasloe asylum – now known as St Brigid’s Hospital – is famous only in ...”

“... for a degree in Middle Eastern Studies. Marten’s mother, Virginie de Selliers, an evangelical Christian, had arranged the visit, taking her daughter to Lagos and returning without her. The papers quoted disturbing tales of sexual violence and coercion, ‘grooming’ and ‘brainwashing’, relayed by former members of the church, some of whom Marten had ...”

“... people’s children, he had lived in the block longer than most, so a great many people thought to ring him. ‘Nope,’ he said. His neighbour Christos Fairbairn, a young, powerfully built black man, had called the fire brigade seven times, and for some reason to do with the positioning of his flat in relation to the path of the fire, was able to stay inside ...”