"The day Mark Latham became leader of the Labor Party, the pace of Australian politics fired up. He took his party to heights that seemed unobtainable before his elevation. A year later this loner would resign from the Parliament a broken figure. What happened in those twelve months to turn the country's most dynamic political performer into the sick and embattled man we all saw on our TV screens?

Bernard Lagan burrows deep inside that dramatic year to uncover the gut-wrenching personal dramas, the plots and intrigues, the loyalties betrayed and a set of demons Mark Latham couldn't keep at bay. From a personal office that fractured around him to a shadow cabinet and an election campaign team he sidelined, Mark Latham was the lone rider in Australian politics.

Written with all the energy and drama of a political thriller, Loner: Inside a Labor Tragedy uncovers the bitter struggle and brutal realities of Labor's inner crisis and the legacy of the man who was to be his party's saviour.

Bernard Lagan spent a year on the inside with Mark Latham. This is his story of that rollercoaster ride."