In his novels, writer Derek Thomas exploits the human condition. Opportunism and expediency are compelling threads whether the story-line is about love, war or in the courtroom. The settings promote the action in domestic or isolated situations, the outcome typically profiling humankind's need to be forgiven for its faults. The author's monographs on architecture and the urban environment are distributed worldwide by well-known publishers. He lives in Cape Town, after years of travel worldwide.