diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index 87baa29..0e01c99 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -1,3 +1,13 @@
+multistrap (2.2.0) unstable; urgency=low
+
+  * Add option to specify the apt default release directly and
+    change the manpage content to advise on how this further
+    complicates the permutations of apt configuration. Add
+    commands to direct apt at the apt.conf.d and preferences.d
+    directories within the chroot. (Closes: #717886)
+
+ -- Neil Williams <codehelp@debian.org>  Sat, 27 Jul 2013 15:50:01 +0100
+
 multistrap (2.1.23) unstable; urgency=low
 
   * Carry changes from experimental into unstable.
diff --git a/debian/control b/debian/control
index 5f4b1e3..bbc6718 100644
--- a/debian/control
+++ b/debian/control
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ Maintainer: Neil Williams <codehelp@debian.org>
 Uploaders: Wookey <wookey@debian.org>
 Build-Depends: cdbs, debhelper (>= 7), po4a (>= 0.37.1)
 Build-Depends-Indep: intltool
-Standards-Version: 3.9.3
+Standards-Version: 3.9.4
 Homepage: http://www.emdebian.org/multistrap
 Vcs-Browser: http://www.emdebian.org/trac/browser/current/
 Vcs-Svn: http://www.emdebian.org/svn/current/
diff --git a/examples/full.conf b/examples/full.conf
index 1f8cb72..fbee13e 100644
--- a/examples/full.conf
+++ b/examples/full.conf
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ omitpreinst=false
 # apt preferences file
 # aptpreferences=pref.conf
 aptpreferences=
+# explicitly set the APT::Default-Release (default is *)
+aptdefaultrelease=
 # download the sources for the packages downloaded
 retainsources=false
 # allow Recommended packages to be seen as strict dependencies
diff --git a/multistrap b/multistrap
index 30dd404..d99b903 100755
--- a/multistrap
+++ b/multistrap
@@ -36,12 +36,13 @@ use vars qw/ $progname $ourversion $dstrap $extra @aptsources
  $explicit_suite $allow_recommends %omitdebsrc @dsclist @sectoutput
  %flatfile %important $addimportant @debconf $hookdir %hooks
  $warn_count $use_shortcut @foreignarches $olddpkg $ignorenative
- %foreignpkgs $markauto /;
+ %foreignpkgs $markauto $default_release /;
 
 setlocale(LC_MESSAGES, "");
 textdomain("multistrap");
 $progname = basename($0);
 $ourversion = &our_version();
+$default_release = "*";
 $unpack = "true";
 %omitdebsrc=();
 %foreignpkgs=();
@@ -338,8 +339,11 @@ $config_str .= " -o Apt::Get::Download-Only=true";
 $config_str .= " -o Apt::Install-Recommends=false"
 	if (not defined $allow_recommends);
 $config_str .= " -o Dir=$dir";
-$config_str .= " -o Dir::Etc=${dir}${etcdir} -o APT::Default-Release=*"
-	if (not defined $preffile);
+$config_str .= " -o Dir::Etc=${dir}${etcdir}";
+$config_str .= " -o Dir::Etc::Parts=${dir}${etcdir}apt.conf.d/";
+$config_str .= " -o Dir::Etc::PreferencesParts=${dir}${etcdir}preferences.d/";
+$config_str .= " -o APT::Default-Release=$default_release";
+#	if (not defined $preffile);
 if (defined $deflist) {
 	$sourcesname = "sources.list.d/multistrap.sources.list";
 	$config_str .= " -o Dir::Etc::SourceList=${dir}${etcdir}$sourcesname";
@@ -1182,6 +1186,8 @@ sub cascade {
 				($keys{$section}{'explicitsuite'} eq "true"));
 			$allow_recommends++ if ((defined $keys{$section}{'allowrecommends'}) and
 				($keys{$section}{'allowrecommends'} eq "true"));
+			$default_release = lc($keys{$section}{'aptdefaultrelease'})
+				if (defined $keys{$section}{'aptdefaultrelease'});
 			my @p = split(' ', lc($keys{$section}{'debconfseed'}))
 				if (defined $keys{$section}{'debconfseed'});
 			foreach my $f (@p) {
diff --git a/pod/multistrap b/pod/multistrap
index 196d3d2..b511fa5 100644
--- a/pod/multistrap
+++ b/pod/multistrap
@@ -129,6 +129,9 @@ http://wiki.debian.org/Multistrap
 
 http://www.emdebian.org/multistrap/
 
+C<multistrap> includes an example configuration file with a full list
+of all supported config file options: F</usr/share/doc/multistrap/examples/full.conf>
+
 =head1 Shortcuts
 
 In a similar manner to C<debootstrap>, C<multistrap> supports referring
@@ -553,10 +556,33 @@ to use typical Debian behaviour.
 
 =head1 Default release
 
-If your system specifies a default-release for apt, this can cause
-problems when trying to create a bootstrap which does not include
-the default suite. To counter this, C<multistrap> sets a wildcard for
-the Default Release within the bootstrap. See also: apt preferences.
+C<multistrap> supports an option to explicitly set the default release
+to use with apt: C<aptdefaultrelease>. This determines which release apt
+will use for the base system packages and is not the same as pinning
+(which relates to the use of apt after installation). Multistrap sets
+the default-release to the wildcard * unless a release is named in the
+C<aptdefaultrelease> field. Any release specified here must also be
+defined in a stanza referenced in the bootstrap list or apt will fail.
+
+To install a specific version of a package from a newer release than
+the one specified as default, C<explicitsuite> must also be set to true
+if the package exists at any version in the default release. Also, any
+packages upon which that package has a strict dependency (i.e. = rather
+than >=) must also be explicitly added to the packages line in the
+stanza for the desired version, even though that package does not need
+to be listed to get it from the default release. This is typical apt
+behaviour and is not a bug in multistrap.
+
+The combination of default release, explicit suite and apt preferences
+can quickly become complex and bugs can be very hard to identify.
+C<multistrap> always outputs the complete apt command line, so test
+this command yourself (using the files written out by C<multistrap>) to
+see what is going on. Remember that all dependency resolution and all
+the logic to determine which version of a specific package gets installed
+in your C<multistrap> chroot is entirely down to apt and all C<multistrap>
+can do is pass files and command line options to apt.
+
+See also: apt preferences.
 
 =head1 Explicit suite specification