A job as stills photographer and some top-notch nosh were two good reasons for Alby Murdoch to be in Saigon. The third was that he had to clear out of Sydney and the spy game for a while.

But when Alby snaps a photo of the wrong passing cyclo, suddenly more action is taking place off camera than on. Alongside his old flame, the bootylicious Jezebel Quick - and his new friend, the alluring Inspector Hoang - Alby is thrust into the murky, watch-your-back world of casino crime lords, bent politicians, rogue expats, killer fish and ruthless celebrity chefs.

Dead and Kicking takes us racing through the adrenaline-charged streets of Saigon, Hing Kong and Macau, through Darwin and the Top End and into Canberra's corridors of power. It's Geoff McGeachin at his irreverent, page-turning best.