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In the not too distant future, in an age of scientific benefits, the world continues to turn and is not dominated by robots and machines but relies upon the skill and determination of individuals often facing the adversity of politics, that inevitable bedfellow of civilisation, when a submarine with its crew is destroyed. An ordinary man with a family and career in the Royal Navy leads his life, hopeful for advancement and personal happiness. The nameless captain attains his promotion with a crown of thorns as his superior Paul Corruthers endeavours to follow his own career path. As Captain of an ageing nuclear submarine, the ordinary man descends into a world of political expediency where a mission of surveillance to North Korea becomes a fight for survival. Unaware of the subterfuge and deceit of self-centred Paul Corruthers, he performs his duties to the best of his abilities until faced with the ultimate dilemma as a member of the armed forces in a deniable operation where his very existence is threatened in an underwater duel between two submarines. Ambiguity over the rules of engagement and grey areas of interpretation so beloved by politicians, ultimately cause the Captain to question his own self-worth. As a consequence, and following a show court martial, the Captain embarks upon a new career and is brought even closer, as a survey ship captain, to the politics and the totalitarian regime of North Korea. more

Rafe, a second-generation British citizen, whose grandparents fled India during the separation, grows up with Muslim parents still steeped in their traditional culture. He is unappreciated and bullied at school and so falls under the thrall of a fiery Imam who persuades him to leave his family and join a madrassa in Pakistan. His teachers in the madrassa, however, reject him as a fighter; he is too slight of build and asks too many questions. He is persuaded to return to England, albeit partly radicalised toward the strict adherence of Sharia law, and completes his education to find work in the oil industry. Unfortunately for him, his assistance to his radical Imam brings him under the scrutiny of the anti-terrorist police. He is treated badly by the police and becomes determined to fight, wanting to join Islamic State and the new caliphate. A more moderate Imam persuades him not to flee to Syria, just to become a suicide bomber like other young men, but to help, and see for himself how the caliphate works. He retrains as a paramedic and joins a hospital in Aleppo in the midst of the Syrian Civil War. His subsequent kidnapping by an IS group and forced employment at the main hospital in Raqqa with his colleagues, changes his life and his views. Meanwhile, in America a new president campaigns, and against all the odds is elected. His pre-election anti-Muslim rhetoric leads to an isolationist policy in which America intends to leave the Arab world to its own devices. Like Rafe, events suck America back into the Syrian Iraqi conflict, and the president also is forced to changes his views. As Rafe becomes involved in the clash of American and disparate Arab forces against Islamic State, he gains both stature and self-confidence, but his allegiances begin to change. more