Nicholas Hopwood is an insular character, whose regulated lifestyle has always revolved around the requirements of a very demanding job with an offshoot of the British security services. When he senses burnout is a distinct possibility, Hopwood takes retirement at the comparatively early age of 44, in the knowledge that he is financially secure and in relatively good health. This would appear to be the perfect opportunity for our man to take time out to smell the coffee; maybe even catch up on some of the missed opportunities that his regimented lifestyle has obliged him to previously ignore. The major difficulty with that plan is that Hopwood has always adopted personalities rather than possessing one of his own. An ideal characteristic for a man employed in a senior role by a little-known branch of the Secret Service but not necessarily one that best enables you to find a comfortable niche in the outside world.