Year Out of Time

Everyone dreams of being rich; of being able to buy whatever they want, and never having to consider the cost. There are a number of ways to become rich. You could win the lottery, but the odds against you doing that are very high indeed. Another way is by working hard for it. The odds are just about as high, and you will still need more than your fair share of luck. John Armstrong was a natural entrepreneur and had taken the second route. He realized early on that the way to make money was first find your market, and then provide that market with the products that they would need (even if they didn't know they needed them at the time). John's market was middle-aged men. Men in their 40's and 50's, who had enough money to spend on what were in fact luxury items; products like vitamin and weight loss pills, hair growth products and the really big money spinner, Erectile Dysfunction medications. Over the next twenty-five years, with the help of his best friend and lawyer, Chris Fairfax, and a number of bright young university graduates, he had driven Derwent Pharmaceuticals to become one of the most profitable companies in the UK. Now, after half a lifetime of sixteen hour days and seven day working weeks, John had had enough. At the age of forty-seven, he looked back on his life and wondered where the hell it had gone. Overnight, and after talking with Chris, John decided to sell his controlling stake in the company. John had found his sanctuary, a handsome medieval house with a lake and a trout stream. In retirement, he just wanted peace and quiet after all the years of board meetings and international travel. However, soon after moving into his new home in the beautiful Devonshire countryside, he finds himself yearning for the relative calm and sanity of his old life in London. John's new life and his view of the world will be turned upside down by events at Midwater Manor.