What possesses a man to claim asylum in his own country?
Alex Donovan is a young refugee lawyer in crisis. Helping desperate clients reach safety is what gives his job meaning. But now he finds himself demoted, signed off sick for stress and facing redeployment to the firm's subterranean billing department. Then there is Amy, the woman he adores. The irresistible junior barrister seems to be drifting away from him. With little to lose and all to prove, Alex dreams up a madcap plan to restore his honour and secure Amy's affection. But is anything quite as it seems...
Sanctuary is a satirical, romantic thriller that enthrals, enlightens and builds to a twist that sends you spinning back to page one.
'"Allegory of Our Age." Just as Animal Farm is a satirical novella so, in part at least, is Sanctuary...one that deserves to be read again.'
Law Society Gazette
'Smart as heck and containing a taut energy, Sanctuary is an exciting and convincing read.'
Love Reading
More Praise for Sanctuary
'Everyone should read this furious defence of the voiceless. Sanctuary is a blistering novel that speaks for the migrants our politics would rather silence. It unmasks a system built to exploit the powerless. In exposing the hypocrisies of refugee policy, Sanctuary holds up a mirror to our times and reveals that the real emergency is not migration, but how we treat those who migrate.'
Chris Cleave
'Alex the human rights lawyer is one of the most vivid and compelling protagonists I've come across in ages. Sharp as tacks at work, fairly clueless when it comes to women, somehow he manages to be both rude and charming, cunning and gauche, cynical and romantic, all at the same time. Gaisford's insider knowledge makes his cleverly constructed legal thriller a compulsive and genuinely enlightening read. Alex's passionate hope is that a story can change the public's perception of asylum seekers. Maybe this one will.'
Suzi Feay
'Tom Gaisford’s gripping novel explores an urgent subject – the UK’s inhumane treatment of asylum seekers…(it is) both affecting and memorable.’
Lucy Popescu
'People have been moving around in search of a better life since time began, but few subjects generate gloomier air. Tom Gaisford‘s close knowledge of the law makes Sanctuary not just clever and gripping, but also heartfelt.'
Robert Winder
‘Every scenario was beautifully done whether amongst lawyers or asylum seekers, convincing and moving in some cases, and excellent and believable characters…I could not stop reading it...’
Rebecca Fraser
'Timely and hugely well-informed, Tom Gaisford’s debut novel shines a light on the UK’s asylum process and from inside brings us a novel that is ambitious, entertaining and amusing in equal parts.’
Peter Hanington
‘Very clever…the storyline about an immigration lawyer posing as an asylum-seeker to expose iniquities is a real brainwave.'
Anthony Gardner
‘Passionate and atmospheric, both as a love story and a ferocious drama set in the murky world of asylum policy and practice, written with deep insight, exciting twists and insolent good humour.’
Robert Bathurst
‘I really loved this book, which is nothing if not original. Gaisford combines rich and humorous dialogue, beautifully filmic description, searching questions about our treatment of asylum-seekers, and a deftly-woven, romantically-charged plot, to create something truly unprecedented.’
Lorelei King
Paperback published 30 October 2025
£11.99
ISBN 978-1917447034
Hardback published April 2025
£17.99
ISBN 978-1-917447-02-7
Also available on Amazon and other outlets as an ebook or audiobook
About the Author
Tom Gaisford is a barrister with over ten years' experience working in human rights, asylum and immigration law, and a freelance contributor to The Independent, The Tablet, and openDemocracy. Prior to law, he did a master's degree in Human Rights and spent a year at Salamanca University, where he studied Spanish literature and translation.
In 2021, Tom stopped practising law and moved with his young family to Guernsey, where he has since completed his first novel, Sanctuary, and begun work on his second. Tom relishes the creative freedom of fiction writing, which he sees as a means of entertaining, of connecting people, and as an alternative form of advocacy.
