Henry Bagshot Synopsis

Henry Bagshot
Or
The Saigh Valley Affair

SYNOPSIS


The story, set in the late eighties, traces how childhood sweethearts marry for convenience, seperate for necessity and follow spectacularly different paths to find happiness in the beautiful Saigh Valley.

Henry Bagshot lives for his sport, particularly football. As a Manchester City supporter for as long as he can remember he is used to disappointments, but none more so than when his attractive girl friend, later to be his wife, Jackie, has plans to make them some money; firstly, at university, hiring him out as a male escort and then persuading him to become a publican. The machinations of his resourceful partner result in their becoming tenants of a small traditional thatched inn in a pretty Saigh Valley village where their impact is immediate as he instigates various functions, such as the boat trip and pumpkin show. However her eclectic tastes and ambition lead her to diversify her interests and when the brewery announces the closure of their pub, she is quick to seize a business opportunity.
They move a few miles down the road and take over a town pub where the clientele present new challenges.

It is not long before Jackie, now running a high class brothel, is lured into the world of high society, finds herself struggling to maintain a relationship with her more mundane husband and leaves him after being exposed on television on Gold Cup day at Royal Ascot.
However, Jackie discovers that sometimes wealth is not always all it seems and she becomes enmeshed in a world of arms and people smuggling, kidnap and pornography.
The problems start when her brothel is used by a ruthless businessman, Martin Dwyer, acting on behalf of a motor manufacturing consortium, to kidnap the Minister of Transport and take compromising photographs in a bid to get him to change policies. The police investigation leads to her and her business associate Arthur Dennison, a man of dubious background and even more dubious sexual proclivities.
This places Jackie in an awkward situation and she becomes a threat, not only to Dwyer but to another of his associates, an Arab Prince, who after inviting Jackie to Royal Ascot, badly mistreats her.
She decides to follow a route of revenge and retribution, a course of action so fraught with danger her life is soon imperilled.She hatches two plans; the first involves the Princes prize winning thoroughbred, entered for the Goodwood Cup. When this plan fails she turns to the second and the dreaded scorpions.

When the Prince realises the danger to his own schemes he has to take action. Aided and abetted by a senior Scotland Yard policeman who ‘advises’ the Prince, Dwyer is ordered to murder Jackie before she can testify against them. In a tense race against time, Henry and the local chief of police, Chief Inspector, Ben Tooley finally come to her rescue and set up the denouement.

After he and his wife seperate, Henry is comforted by an old acquaintence, Tara, a young prostitute he met at university and one of his wife’s current girls. Slowly, she restores his vitality and self confidence and when she offers to look after Henry’s bookkeeping, previously the province of his self serving wife, quickly returns the business to profit and a smile to his heart.

Meanwhile, Jackie, following her experience with the Prince re-evaluates her life, leading to a happy renaissance and a chance to start afresh with her new lover, the Master of Foxhounds.



Kevill Davies

Copyright © Kevill Davies 2008

Novel length 117000 words


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Kevill Davies