Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace Being Bonkers.

Tom Freeman is a political cartoonist in crisis. As the rational world crumbles round his ears, his grasp on reality is held by a white lizard whose answer to everything is a wise crack. Socially paralysed, whacked out on medication and reduced to living on benefit, Tom struggles to get treatment for whatever is disturbing him. At every turn he is confounded by the madness of the system. Only the irritating lizard seems to make any sense, but will Tom rediscover his sense of humour? Or is there something dark and lurking in the dungeon of his past that prevents him ever seeing the funny side again?

What follows are two consecutive chapters sampled from 'Depresso', beginning with Chapter Three. Having suffered what might be a breakdown, Tom accompanies his partner, Judy, on a business trip to China...