Q wants a simpler and safer life. His work as a quantum cryptographer for the government has led him to believe a crisis is imminent for civilisation, and he's looking for somewhere to ride out what's ahead. He buys a ruined farmhouse in Cornwall and begins to build his own self-sufficient haven. As life in the cities gets more complicated, and systems of electronic control begin to fall apart, Q flourishes in the wild countryside. Over the course of this quest he meets the eccentric characters who already live on the moors nearby, including the park ranger in charge of the reintroduced lynxes and aurochs that roam the area; a holy man waiting for the second coming on top of a nearby hill; an Arthurian knight on horseback - and the amorous ghost of an Edwardian woman who haunts the farmhouse.