ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS hat this book is in your hands is down to two people: my agent, Edwin Hawkes, and my publisher, Nick Brealey, who both took a leap of faith for which I am forever grateful. If you're part of the teams at Makepeace Towle Literary Agency, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, thanks for everything. I probably committed more than one social faux pas by being too inquisitive, so sorry to all my Swiss friends for that. Answering my many questions about your lives and your country helped immensely. That goes doubly for all my past colleagues at Stauffacher and in the English Bookshop. And to the Stauffacher Reading Circle, thank you for being willing chocolate tasters. A special mention for Markus, who has shown how good a friend a Swiss man can be; without him this book would have been far less interesting. And Jane and Marcela, who make my life as an expat in Bern so much better. Not forgetting, in no particular order, Julie Lennard, Sebastien Desprez, Christina Warren, Kate Coleman, Martin T