Oliver Sweetblood had two simple ambitions, to get laid and to become a famous artist. His friends Linda and Fred had done the first and were well on the way to achieving the second. How on earth can Oliver catch up?

The latest novel from Owen Ransen is a gripping thriller of art, forgery and fakes where nothing is quite what it seems. It traces the story of three young artists in 1970s London and Bath as they struggle to survive in the polite cut-throat world of international art markets.

This novel, set in the Himalayan plains 2500 years ago, is an alternative history of the origins of Buddhism.

Just after midnight, standing on the balcony of his palace, Prince Siddhartha Gautama, suddenly saw among the millions of bright stars a long thin trace of gold and silver fire. The single trace split into three as he watched.

A bright star led each trace, like comets but smaller and faster. Like a comet which had broken up into three blinding jewels. Two of the bright lines suddenly faded into the dark sky. The remaining trace curved towards the earth, slowing and changing color from bright pale gold to orange and then red. Finally, even that falling diamond disappeared into the space between the sky and the earth.

The prince has left the palace, alone and in secret. Where has he gone? And did the omen of the three falling stars have anything to do with his disappearance?