The Band's Still Playing

Liverpudlian Tommy Jackson's life is complicated. He lost a leg fighting in Afghanistan, and has only a few weeks of rehab at Headley Court before he gets married. Frances, his girlfriend, back in Liverpool, is heavily pregnant and doesn't know if the baby will arrive before the wedding. Her father is far from happy with her choice of mate. Steve Chalmers is a marine invalided out of the Service who runs the club Steve's Squaddies of which Tommy was a founder member. His recruits are delinquents or youngsters whose home circumstances have caused social problems. They are rehabilitated into society by doing community work in exchange for training in self defence. Steve acts as a mentor to Tommy but finds it difficult to help him from a distance. Living with beautiful Jamaican Rosy and her fourteen year old twins has its ups and downs. Steve would also like to get married, but she can't forget the death of her son, Tommy's best friend, who was killed in Afghanistan. Steve struggles to keep his club going financially and is stretched to keep the members under control on his own. Tommy's trials and tribulations are shared at Headley Court by extrovert Jimbo and blind Cammy, also casualties of the Afghan war. He relies heavily on Jimbo who always seems to be able to lift him from his dark moods and keep him going in his efforts to be fit for the marriage ceremony. The climax comes when they all come together at the wedding. This is the second book in a trilogy series.