A dystopian crusade into the near future. It's over a decade now since the first of the Coronavirus pandemics rocked the world. Life has changed beyond recognition. To reduce cross infections of new strains, most countries have closed their borders. Fortress Britain is once again an island, floating a mere 21 miles from the beleaguered continent. It is secured by the Border Protection Agency, armed with deadly weapons, and orders to shoot to kill. Barry Saint-Albans is a small part of the BPA, guarding the shoreline, but when he fights off groups of illegals successfully making it across the litter-clogged English Channel, he suspects there is corruption inside the organisation. Barely escaping with his life after a new incursion by heavily armed migrants, he takes pity on one of them, in direct violation of his orders. She is desperate to publicise vital information which threatens the whole world order. The knowledge she shares effectively condemns them both to death... if they are discovered. That was probably the last time Barry was able to tell the truth. Hiding his refugee adds to the fictions he uses to explain to authorities noting his increased power usage, larger food bills, and his purchase of ladies' toiletries. To add to his problems, he is running the house with an artificial intelligence system connected to the Multinet, that hasn't yet learned to bend the truth. His new housemate is discovered before she can pass on the data she carries, and after incursions from her people and his, they are forced to flee. The journey takes them halfway across the planet, with the threat of this scared new world ever at their heels.