Over at Nicky's place, somebody's dumped twenty stolen chairs in the backyard. What does she care? They call her a fat slag at school and all her mam can do is watch Relocation, Relocation and dream of being elsewhere. Nicky prefers to dream of Barry, who's a dab hand at picking locks. Meanwhile, Frank is doing his best to get on top of things at Pierce Constant Solutions, but bumping into an old school adversary is more than he can cope with. At the care home, Tom looks for the light to go off in his son's flat, because he's due a visit, but memories of wartime keep getting in the way. Neither Nicky, Frank, nor Tom realises that their lives are about to collide. Bumping is a novel of suspense, dark humour and richly-distinctive voices, set on contemporary Tyneside.