The Gardener from Ochakov

An understated fantasy with an unlikely but likeable heroThe Times

When Igor accidentally travels back to 1957 Kyiv, he finds out that the past isnt as rosy as it seems. In fact its positively dangerous...

Igor is confident his old Soviet policemans uniform will be the best costume at the party. But he hasnt gone far before he realises something is wrong. The streets are unusually dark and empty, and the only person to emerge from the shadows runs away from him in terror.

After a perplexing conversation with the terrified man, who turns out to be a wine smuggler, and on recovering from the resulting hangover, Igor comes to an unbelievable conclusion: he has found his way back to 1957 Kyiv. And it isnt the innocent era his mother and her friends have so sentimentally described.

As he travels between centuries, his life becomes more and more complicated. The unusual gardener who lives in his mothers shed keeps disappearing, his best friend has blackmailed the wrong people, and Igor has fallen in love with a married woman in a time before he was born. With his mothers disapproval at his absences growing, and his adventures in each time frame starting to catch up with him, Igor has to survive the past if he wants any kind of future.