"Fred's meteoric rise began in earnest one evening, when, watching television, he had an idea that would change everything for everyone. That his wild practical joke had the whiff of sense, of justice even, made it all the more plausible."

In this satire-cum-black-comedy-thriller, Britain is in meltdown: energy shortages, non-existent public services, rampant inequality and millions dead at the hands of a deadly plague caused by plastics pollution - and Fred McVelly, womanising confidante to the drug-addled Premier, Terry Hair, is having the time of his life.

Having masterminded an election victory sold as a rescue package (but in truth an experiment in how far you can take a prank) Fred is now the quasi-leader of the People's Republic of Britannia - an eco-fascist nanny state in which each Citizen's every move is regulated and recorded, plastic surgery is prescribed as medicine, and having a drink on the wrong day can mean getting banged up. Parliament and the Monarchy are long gone.

When an anonymous terrorist resurfaces, calling for revolution, Fred hatches a plan to demonstrate the government 'winning the battle for hearts and minds.' But when he chooses heavy-drinking Pontiff for his latest ruse, things threaten to fall apart.

For Pontiff, everything's being going wrong since he came south of the border. And now, fresh out of a LifeManagement4Life Institute, he finds he's a tabloid sensation. Exasperated by the nation's collective idiocy and engaged in a spot of terrorism himself, he's in no mood to play along.

Forced to go on the run from the crackpot resistance movement, he, like everyone, wants to know: just who is Ockham, the anonymous literary terrorist and public enemy number one?

As a raft of hilarious and grotesque characters discover they are connected in ways they didn't imagine, all are united in one thing: the battle to stay alive. Deadly serious and a lot of fun, fans of Orwell, Vonnegut and Phillip K. Dick will find much to enjoy here. This is the novel for our bizarre times.