Madagascar Rhodes's magical novel The Alchemist's Apprentice enchanted millions, making him the most famous author in the world. And yet you've never heard of him. Or his book. The whole thing is a little hard to explain. To unravel the tangled threads of reality you have to go back to the beginning. To a New Year's Eve party in Cambridgeshire in 1996. Or earlier, when an unsuccessful novelist called Roderick Bent embarked on a train journey that turned into a nightmare. Actually, it doesn't matter where you start from.

The point is that you'll soon understand why there's never been another book like it. And, more importantly, why you can't remember that you've already read it.