Michael Phillips’ book, The Mijas Cowboy, follows four Cardiff men, Vince, Alfie, Frankie, and Ronnie, who have spent almost three decades meeting every morning at Bracchi’s Café in Cardiff Bay.
Then, a letter arrives from Mijas Pueblo in southern Spain from a friend who disappeared 26 years ago, asking them to come and find him.
This kicks off a journey of reckoning, reconciliation, and surprises.
The book explores themes such as male friendship, ageing, invisibility, and second chances and is set partly on the streets and seafront of Penarth and Cardiff Bay.
Mr Phillips said: “I’ve lived in Penarth for many years and the town is woven into the fabric of the book.
“I walk the barrage daily and most of my best ideas happen there.”
The book has already received strong early praise, with Mr Phillips’ editor describing it as playing “out in my mind’s eye like a BBC drama.”
The Mijas Cowboy is published on October 13.
