Prolific storyteller John Creasey forged (yet another) pen-name for this work -- Richard Martin--linking the names of two of his sons. A departure of sorts from the thrillers for which he was already famous, this book tells the story of a friendship between two boys from a poor district in London, who--on Armistice Night 1918 and with nothing more than an old 'pram, some potatoes and a little coal--begin what develops into a mighty commercial undertaking.The friendship strengthens during the rich period in English history between the two World Wars.John Creasey's or should we say Richard Martin's description of social conditions, the gradual growth of the threat from Nazi Germany, and the interplay of the lives of his characters who become living people, make not only a remarkable novel but a vivid yet undistorted picture of the times.