Officially Dead is an adapted Upper level reader written by Richard Prescott. When Colin Fenton is offered a large sum of money to carry out a job, he believes it is an easy solution to fix his struggling business. However, the job goes wrong and Colin loses his identity, leaving his wife to try to prove whether he is officially dead.

Linda leant back in her chair and said calmly, ’Colin, do you want to earn £10,000 for one evening’s easy work?"

He laughed. ’I don’t buy lottery tickets, he said.

I’m serious, Colin, Linda said. ’And I’m not talking about buying lottery tickets. I’m talking about £10,000 in cash. It’s yours, if you want it.

"What’s going on?’ he said nervously. ’What do you want from me?"

’My husband is going to need an alibi, she said. "You can provide one for him. It’s as simple as that

Colin Fenton and his wife run a software company, but only Colin knows that the business is £10,000 in debt. When a chance meeting leads him to an offer that he thinks will quickly solve all his problems, he accepts. But things go wrong and he loses his whole identity. His wife must then try to prove whether or not he is officially dead.

This original story explores themes of money, ambition, deception and crime.