Stationmaster Douglas Jones and his remote country town of Bangle are perfectly suited: inconsequential specks in the universe, left behind as the world hurtles like a freight train toward the age of computers. But when Douglas’s only friend is killed in a hit-and-run and the police won’t lift a finger, it’s time to pick up his copy of The Art of War and prepare for battle. He just needs to lose a few kilos first.

Who killed flamboyant celebrity lawyer, Bill Carlisle? And why? As Douglas discovers Bill’s shady deals and how many enemies he has in town, a clearer picture is painted about the man everybody knew as Wild Bill. Frustrated by the police’s lethargic investigation, he takes it upon himself to find Bill’s killer only to entangle himself with a relentless Comanchero bikie, disastrous romantic dalliances, and a deadly accident that puts him in the sights of organised crime detectives and a seductive assassin. Can’t a guy have a mid-life crisis in peace?

An ode to the tragicomic characters of Kingsley Amis, Jonathon Coe, Evelyn Waugh and their vintage, The Derailing of Douglas Jones follows a man fighting his every urge to be safe and predictable, with catastrophic consequences.