The year is now 1987 and this is the eighth and latest of 'The Derby 9 Goes To' adventure series. In this book, the newspaper printers, including John, Mace, Mick and Gary, at the Heanor factory in Derbyshire, East Midlands, together with more than 400 of their bubbly female colleagues, including Pam, Helen, Debs, Elaine, Liz, Sandy, Bev, Tina and Millie, from the advertising department, pack their beach towels, sun-tan lotion and best evening clothes for a fabulous three-day, all expenses paid break to the South of France.

The Derby 9 are a tight-knit group of printers who work for the Trader Group of Newspapers who, when they are not 'setting pages' for the company's 20 different newspaper editions, can be found down at the Baseball Ground supporting their beloved football team, Derby County. The Derby 9 say they are "chuffed to bits" right now as The Rams are on course to be promoted back to the top-flight, But the big question is, will the Derby 9 be back home in time to watch The Rams' promotion-deciding, final match of the season? The company is owned by a mysterious millionairess, known only as Mrs Hanley, who bought the bankrupt Trader Group back in 1980.

Every year, she, stages a fashion show but with a difference. It isn't made up of top cat-walk models.

In fact, the models are the Trader staff! And that includes the Derby 9! This year's show takes place just outside Nice, the jewel in the crown of the French Riviera- at the home of the world's most famous fashion designer at the time. But not everything goes according to plan with tragedy looming for one senior executive on the trip.

In this, his latest book, Mark Bishop has packed even more 'real life period' dialogue into it with more drama, incident, social status observations, general detail and characterization, than ever before. It all adds up to a humorous, action-packed adventure which should keep every reader thoroughly enthralled throughout.

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