The Weird Problem of Good

Prem Sharma’s wedding to Nasreen Sanim collapses when she uncharacteristically bows to her conscience and walks out. He wanders alone to the town centre where he bumps into Ursula Petulengová, a gypsy refugee from Eastern Europe who manages to convince him she’s someone she’s not. Warming to her despite his ordeal, and dimly sensing her predicament, he invites her to stay with him on a friends-only basis. She accepts.

Afterwards, the lives of all three become inextricably intertwined. The Weird Problem of Good takes as its backdrop the ‘big’ issues of the 21st century: cultural identity, integration, the value of history and the more urgent, more concrete concerns of women-trafficking and the plight of refugees. It is set in and around Middlesbrough.