The Duke The Dog and The Prime Minister's Wife by Roger Penfound

When David meets Alice and Quentin meets Suki the results are not good for David who finds himself branded a ‘pervert’ by the local dog walking community. In an attempt to redeem his character, David becomes involved in a protest to prevent the local landowner (Lord Hartford) from closing Marston woods to dog walkers. The protest is hi jacked by a radical environmental group which suspects the closure order has more sinister motives. Following a confrontation with the police David is hailed an ‘eco warrior’ by the local community and finds himself embarking on a crusade to expose the duke’s real intentions.

His new status brings him back into contact with Alice, the dog walker he first encountered in the woods – both of them are covid refugees from London whose lives have been turned upside down by the pandemic. As they grow closer, David realizes he must first attempt to save his marriage by reuniting with his wife in London and supporting her career as a campaigning journalist. He joins her on a climate demonstration but Quentin responds to a confrontation with angry on lookers by attacking an aggressive taxi driver which leads to his incarceration in a dog pound and David’s committal to hospital with head injuries.

Realising that his marriage cannot be saved, David returns to Marston where the real reason for the closure of the woods has now become apparent. With information supplied by a ‘mole’ from within the duke’s household, a major protest is conceived for a date when the duke is planning to entertain the Prime Minister, his family and other members of the Cabinet at Hartford Hall. David is again coerced into leading the action but careful planning is reduced to panic and pandemonium when an unforeseen tragedy unfolds which provides Quentin with the opportunity to redeem his reputation.