Every trip needs a guide -

One hot summer's evening, two strangers, Jack and Bill, meet in Jack's secondhand shop. Over the course of a long night, they drink a powerful psychedelic infusion - Jack's recipe, refined over many years. With a hunting knife on the table between them, they make a pact to take turns swapping stories on their shared trip.

Jack tells Bill of a mentally disturbed young man called Jon, his life shot through with desire and rage. Through his encounters with the volatile Herman, the mercurial Mercer and the impeccable Dr Fisher, Jon fears that his life his heading towards some 'savage rupture'.

Bill tells Jack his own story, of a disaffected drifters life, an abusive father, a mother who stood by and watched, two wives, endless menial jobs, drink and drugs, cruelty, crime and violence.

As names, places and numerous details overlap, each story reaches its disturbing conclusion. Morning comes and Jack and Bill separate. For one man, only one thing matters now  the contents of an old lead trunk.

Brian Burns has worked in publishing and communications for more than 20 years. One Night, Two Liars is his first published work of fiction. He was born and brought up in Northern Ireland and lives in London.