Dystopian Disaster

Was this how the apocalypse ended for Alex? He never should have been in this mess, but Trey crossed the wrong man. Now Mr. Jackson, the leader of the thugs sent to get blood from a stone, had plans to drag him into the forest and put a bullet in his head. They couldn’t be reasoned with, so when there’s nothing to lose, one might as well go for a long shot. He attacked and caught Mr. Jackson’s men by surprise. If he was going to die, it would be this way, and not on his knees. Exhausted, bloodied, and very much alive, he bolted. Into the dense forest with one goal on his mind.

This is Britain: but not as we know it. THEY are coming closer . . . THEY begin with a dead dog, shadowy footsteps, confiscated books. Soon the National Gallery is purged; eerie towers survey the coast; savage mobs stalk the countryside destroying artworks—and those who resist. THEY capture dissidents—writers, painters, musicians, even the unmarried and childless—in military sweeps, 'curing' these subversives of individual identity. Survivors gather together as cultural refugees, preserving their crafts, creating, loving and remembering. But THEY make it easier to forget ...

Pearl knows little of her father, Jacob, and elder sister, Row, who left her mother, Myra, when she was pregnant with her. Between them they make do, with Myra fishing and trading to make ends meet, travelling from island to island on Bird, the boat Myra’s grandfather made before he died. Whilst their life is a tranquil one, Myra still aches for the daughter she once lost. When a chance encounter reveals that Row might still be alive, Myra packs up six-year-old Pearl, and together they begin a dangerous voyage to The Valley.