In his family, "Let's not talk about the past," has always meant "Let's not talk about anything at all." But now in his middle age, Alasdair has a burning need to know about his parents' lives in Ceylon and the way in which his father died. So when, nearing the end of her life, his mother gives him a bundle of wartime letters, he soaks up every word, piecing together the glamorous expat lives of his parents and his own childhood, even returning to Ceylon to see where his father is buried. But while much is revealed in the letters, much is concealed too and Alasdair is rocked by what he finds out. Why did his mother never mention his older sister? Why, to the very end, had she not talked about her past? Why were the circumstances surrounding the death of his father so mysterious? And what exactly had happened to her in South Africa during World War Two? Baggage Reclaimed is in turn comic and tragic, inspiring and heart-breaking, a powerful evocation of the recent colonial past and a richly engaging story of discovery.

This title is part social history, part personal memoir. It is the story of the 1960s era when a small group of Italian immigrants, led by Mario and Franco and all connected to each other, introduced Britain to authentic Italian cooking and to the 'Trattoria style' which transformed our food and restaurant culture.