The year is 2027: Wars continue in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the Chinese threaten Tai-wan. Another problem is a worldwide outbreak of a new and virulent strain of syphilis.
One of the countries worst affected is the United Kingdom, where the standard of ethics in public life is at an all-time low and law and order have effectively ceased to exist. Politicians of all parties seem clueless.
A group of army officers plan a coup. Amongst them is SAS reservist Richard Tyrrell. An untypical soldier, stoical, introverted, and not far from a pacifist, he joins the conspiracy with grave misgivings. His conscience is further troubled when he begins an affair with a nineteen-year-old handicapped girl who proves more formidable than she seems.
He is targeted by political extremists, she by a serial rapist and murderer. How should a man and woman behave when the world is falling apart around them?