NOTE: This novel is a pastiche. This means that it mimics the style, language, portrayal of relationships and even the front cover of thrillers of the 1940s rather than books of the 21st century. This is intentional and readers who do not enjoy novels of the 1940s are advised not to buy this book.

Please also note that the story is set in an alternate 1948 and so does not follow the actual history of Britain at that time.

Most of the characters in the book who are members of the group fighting for democracy cannot be described as 'left-wing'. Most are conservative in political outlook.

A reviewer has given away the climax of the book, thus there is no longer a point in concealing the twist. Despite his portrayal of it, the conclave is betrayed by an insider. This is how the group's defences are successfully breached.

Synopsis:

Britain under military dictatorship.
With independence for India, British colonial police officer, Charles Naylor returns to Britain to take up the house left to him in his uncle’s will. Naylor awakes, however, not in a Britain recovering from the Second World War, but one where Britain was defeated in the First World War. It is a country in the grip of a home-grown dictatorship: generals run the government, the streets are patrolled by military police and the fields farmed by indentured workers. Charles is condemned as a mad man but then is drawn into being a figurehead for the movement fighting for democracy. Whilst evading the authorities bent on killing him, Charles Naylor has to decide which path he will take and tread a fine line between those seeking reforms by peaceful means and those increasingly insistent bringing about change through violence.

This fictional novel is written by Alexander Rooksmoor, author of a successful series of collections analysing different ‘what if?’s in history. In this book, he explores what the impact of such a change would be on the lives of individuals and the choices they would be forced to make. Conjuring up a world which is similar to ours but with significant differences, Rooksmoor shows the challenges faced by a man escaping from the authorities, trying to advance the cause of freedom and deciding which is the correct route to take to the future, both his own and Britain’s.