In this novel set over the course of a day, an alcoholic, Canadian, World War I veteran attempts to find peace while shopping for a birthday present. Twenty-five years after the Great War, John Maclean is still struggling to carve out a meaningful existence in his small New Brunswick hometown. One late summer day he embarks on a seemingly prosaic search for a little money, a little booze, and a birthday gift for his mother. But he's haunted by memories--of war, of his cruel father, of opportunities wasted and lost--and each moment is shadowed by his bleak history. Shell-shocked and alcoholic, Maclean is divided between a lonely present and a violent past. With clean and evocative prose, author Allan Donaldson exquisitely depicts a shattered war veteran's search for peace. Praise for Maclean "Slim yet encompassing, tender yet merciless . . . This book merits a media flurry." --Globe and Mail (Canada)