A renowned investigative journalist, Susan O'Keeffe was used to being at the other side of the camera, asking questions instead of being asked them, investigating the failings of politicians rather than aspiring to be one herself.

But in the spring of 2009 the Labour Party offered her the nomination to run in the European election in the sprawling eleven-county north-west constituency. It was as far from a safe Labour seat as it was possible to be but O'Keeffe accepted the challenge for several reasons, some of which owed more to instinct than to logic.

The Candidate is a diary of the 2009 European election campaign, from the end of March to polling day on 5 June: weeks in which Susan O'Keeffe rarely sleeps in her own bed and scarcely finds time to eat (although she drinks lots of tea). With the help of her loyal family and a small team, she runs a low-budget high-octane campaign, crisscrossing the constituency from Clare to Donegal, from Sligo to Westmeath, and making time for media appearances In Dublin.

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