Tim Lott (b. 1956) is one of the most popular contemporary English writers. His first book, The Scent of Dry Roses (1996), received the Best Autobiography Award in 1996. His novel White City Blue (1999) was awarded the Whitbread Prize in 2000. The novel “Storm Warning” (Rumours of a Hurricane, 2002) was recognized by critics as the best book of the year. White City Blue is a novel about the conflict between friendship and love. A friendship made of banter, beer and nostalgia for the Best Day that the friends vowed to celebrate every year, no matter what. And love for the woman who entailed the Great Betrayal. The hero of the novel, Frankie Blue, has to make a choice between his friends and his wife.