Peter O'Toole's account of his early life - a childhood framed by "Captain" Patrick O'Toole, itinerant racetrack bookmaker and Constance Jane Eliot Ferguson who had "wavy black hair, quick eyes and a determination to marry for money", his schooldays under the long shadow of Adolf Hitler, his years in the navy, his short-lived career as a cub reporter and the almost accidental audition at RADA that launched his career.