The Death & Times of Mark Ferris

Forty year old postman, Mark Ferris, has fallen out of his attic and died, leaving behind his long-suffering wife, Elaine. Mark is duly brought in front of a 3-man committee - Mr T. and the Sidekicks - who explain he has not met the criteria to live the death he always dreamed of. Instead, he is to be messaged back to the land of the living where he will be expected to 'watch' various people as they go about their daily lives. Through Mark's eyes we learn to love and/or hate; a Welsh part-time debt-collector; a work-from-home aromatherapist; a judo expert with a love of poker; a well known TV celebrity; and an agoraphobic divorcee, all of whom, along with the committee, take great pleasure in making Mark's death as difficult as possible. Mark also gets to befriend Old Eric, an ancient Guru-like spirit, who is possibly the oldest dead person alive, and a constant source of information regarding Elaine's ongoing orgasmic sex-life. But why is Mark's death-time so filled with problems? What could he possibly have done to upset the committee so much? After all, he's only a postman.