Breathless is, in name and in fact, a novel capable of taking the reader into an involuntary state of apnea, a long immersion in a literary dimension not so far from our recent reality. Facing the most violent pandemic of recent centuries, poised between rational conspiracy and actuality, Breathless, through the stories of its protagonists, takes the reader by the hand to the day when the HRFI group, of Islamic origin, decided to make known to the whole world the violence of their creation: a virus capable of wiping all infidels off the face of the earth. With this novel, Edward Clifford wants to give new hope to our world, but will hope alone be enough to save it from destruction? Edward Clifford was born in Zambia in 1964 but grew up and studied in South Africa, the homeland of his parents. After his studies in English and psychology, Clifford becomes an English teacher in South Africa and he teaches there for thirty years. At the age of fifty he decides to retire prematurely to teach in Kazakhstan, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Cambodia and other parts of the world. In his books, Clifford puts his peak of inspiration drawn from his travels, his work and his life experiences. Shortly after the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, Clifford returns to South Africa and writes Breathless, followed by another book awaiting publication. In his works, Clifford elegantly enhances the concept of equality, subtly underlining the idea and hope, common to all cultures, especially religious ones, of a better world.