Mickey is from Manchester, and he's a Tough Guy. My name is Mike Scantlebury and I'm the author. I'm not a tough guy, I'm more like an opal, small and perfectly formed. But - more bad news, and worse than that - I'm from Bristol, which is a small, historic port in South West England. It's only claim to fame is that people sailed from there in the 15th century and discovered America. Oh, yeah, well, that is quite a Big Thing, isn't it? But that's the deceptive part of the whole story. I live in Salford now, across the river from the big Northern city of Manchester. My 'Manchester' is not like anyone else's, and if you think you know Manchester - maybe from reading other books set there, or seeing the place on films or on television - I need you to know that. Things aren't always what they seem, are they? Luckily, Manchester has Mickey, which means, fortunately for them, that whenever something bad happens, (and it does, regularly), they've got someone who is going to come in, do The Right Thing, and clear up the mess. Not every town can say that now, can they?