A tiny village in the moors of Yorkshire: Alex Slingsby is a former professional footballer, a primary school teacher in Sinderby, and a man with ambitions. Supported by the headmaster, an exiled Hungarian with a PhD in philosophy, he takes on the local amateur football team. And indeed: Miraculously, the ordinary men from Sinderby make it to the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium. But this great moment is unfortunately over all too quickly. J. L. Carr's novel is much more than a book about football - it is a story of the underdog's success, filled with unforgettable characters and plenty of humor, yet interwoven with a quiet melancholy. "You don't need to understand anything about football to love this narrative.".