It’s Termination Day; the day medical staff decide whether to turn off the life support system linked to coma patient Gabriel Radford. They are unaware that he is suffering from ‘Locked-In’ syndrome and is conscious but unable to respond.
On a warm summer’s evening, just over two months ago, Gabriel fell down the cellar steps at his home. He’d spent the morning and afternoon at his tennis club, drunk too much in the bar and come home to sober up to be ready for the small party his wife, India, had arranged for that evening.
It was late when it happened. If he hadn’t carried on drinking, if he’d replaced the threadbare carpeting on the staircase leading to the cellar, if he’d treated his attacker differently it might never have happened.
It was an accident, everyone at the party agreed. There was no evidence to suggest otherwise. Only Gabriel and the person who had pushed him down the stairs knew otherwise.
There are signs that Gabriel is starting to recover from his locked-in state. But will he recover sufficiently enough to speak before his life is terminated?
