The Heart of the Black Country

The Maskell family lives in West Bromwich, the Midlands. The year is 1971. Grandpa and Grandma Maskell rule benevolently over their three sons and their families. Ten-year-old Keith watches as the family grows – Eric’s wife is expecting their first child, Stephen has recently brought a girl home who to Keith is the epitome of beauty and perfection. For Keith the sweet aroma of an almost perfect childhood promises to last forever. Until his father, John, announces he wants to emigrate to Australia. The calm munificent façade of the Maskell family, so carefully constructed by Grandma Maskell, suddenly begins to crumble. Change is in the wind; things will never be the same again.