Carroll had come to the end of his teaching contract and no immediate prospects of a job in the new term. Inspired by Down And Out in Paris and London, he decides that he will walk from Cornwall to London, as a tramp. Partly to cure his itchy feet and wanderlust, but also to write about the modern plight of the homeless.

So with a small amount of cash, a sleeping bag and a stove, and leaving his wife behind, he walks from his home to Sennen Cove and then begins his journey to London. His first major town is Newquay. With his scruffy clothes and unkempt appearance, he starts to pick up on the negative vibes from those he approaches, and he starts to feel nervous about his first night out alone. He is fine thankfully, but Carroll does start to get an impression of exactly the fears that homeless people cope with every day.

He passes uneventfully through Devon to Bristol. In this city he learns that even though there is more opportunity and money available, he is very much alone with the Bristol homeless unwilling to let him know their sleeping haunts. And now the threats are much increased, not only from drunks coming home from the pub, but from other homeless people. After one frankly terrifying incident he decides it is time to move onto London.

London poses a whole new set of challenges. He stays free with a friend for a week on the couch, before taking the plunge and moving out onto the streets. He meets Boris Johnson and asks him about homeless before managing to grab a long talk with Jeremy Paxman of all people. Finding somewhere safe is really hard, and he suffers a couple of nights with out sleep on the Strand. He stays with the people protesting in Parliament square, before moving onto St Paul's and the Occupy London movement. With events now becoming more perilous he decides to call it a day.

All through the book Carroll is honest to the homeless and the police and care workers about what he is doing and why he is doing it, and whilst he does have the choice to pull out when it suits, an option not available to a lot of people he meets. There are situations and stories that he recounts in here that are chilling and frightening; some of which happen to him and the stories from the homeless that he befriends.

The question that he posed at the beginning of his journey was what is is like to be homeless in the 21st century, and as he says at the end, being homeless is abominable. The threats are terrible, and no one would choose this if they can help it.

I found this to be an eyeopener, you know at the back of your mind that this is an incredibly tough life, but just how tough, coupled with the fear is another level above what I thought. ( )