Playing the Wild Card

Gary Byrne is a footballing genius. When he was transferred to Fiorentina, the Italian fans were soon calling him ''Byron'' - a nick-name that suits both his style as well as his romantic good looks.

But recently something has gone seriously wrong, and ''Byron'' seems to have lost form disastrously. Is it simply the pressure at the top of the game he can''t handle? Or is there something else?

Ross Armstrong, sent out to assess him for a possible transfer back to England, is puzzled. But as Armstrong delves deeper he finds himself being drawn into an off-the-field drama of deception, tragedy and violence.