There are no fish, in the future. We killed them. But it's not just the ghosts of the shoals making artist Cally Dune unhappy. Her husband has gone. Vanished, after being called up for the President's new "Training Scheme".
"Nobody ever comes back the same." Worried whispers drift through the pubs, gathering like rainclouds to drip their paranoia into Cally's mind, which is already marinaded in grief for Simon and fear about being called to Training herself.
Letting the wine flow into the places where it hurts, Cally stumbles into the arms of a clammy banker and unwittingly discovers a disturbing and painful secret. She is propelled on a journey through the dust of Africa and the hidden tunnels deep below London, unraveling the fading scrolls of the ancient Egyptians and illuminating their lurid hieroglyphics.
And ultimately towards a heartbreaking choice...to save her marriage or save her soul.
Because now there's something else at stake.
They are coming for it. And it's inside her.
