‘I knew this from the beginning, when I was inside the lorry, thinking about truth. If you are a good storyteller you will be trusted, get a life, and escape from hell. But what do you need to do to be trusted, if telling the truth is not enough?’

Combining reportage, memoir and philosophical enquiry, this groundbreaking and provocative book takes us inside courtrooms, newsrooms, boardrooms, classrooms and the Home Office to show how trust and belief are institutionalised and codified. If telling a story in the right way, and being believed, is the result of privilege, of being an insider, what does this mean for those outside the system? And what does it ultimately mean for our culture at large?