John Doherty

An Accidental Life: Martin, a man without identity John Doherty

Martin is a man without identity. He doesn't officially exist.

Abandoned as a baby by his unmarried parents, his birth was never registered. Brought up by an obsessively moral grandmother who shielded him from the world, Martin grew up isolated from society.

He never attended school and has no friends. He does not vote or pay taxes. When his grandmother dies, Martin is fifteen and earns a living the only way he can, as a busker, playing an accordion on the streets of Sydney, Australia.

His attempts to break out of his isolation and find friends end in failure until he meets Gustav, an illegal Swedish immigrant, and they become friends.

When Gustav is deported, Martin is shattered and once again alone. But Martin's father has had a change of heart after so many years and decides to find his son. Will Martin finally find what he's been searching for all his life?