Endgame

At a cocktail party to launch his latest creations, called Adam and Eve, God is challenged to a bet by the Devil (who crashed the party). The fallen angel, unimpressed by the Boss's new toys, wagers that, far from being the custodians of Earth that God has created them to be, mankind will instead destroy itself. God, a golfing enthusiast with a fragile ego, can't refuse in front of all his guests, and so accepts. If Satan wins, he gets his place back in Heaven and control of what's left of the Earth. If he loses, he will retire into outer darkness and never bother Him more.

But the key momentum of this story is the relationship between Martin Gray, a simple dentist whose life is unravelling, and the angel Gabriel, a mack-wearing Danish pastry fan, and their attempts to stop the Devil laying waste to the Earth. In which they are aided by Martin's son Luke, the angel Michael, and by Luke's sometime friend Henry, thrash-metal fan and conspiracy theorist.

`Secombe occupies his ground with confidence and never lets logic get in the way of his plot' Guardian

`Terry Pratchett, beware' Brighton Argus