After his exhausting and exhilarating exploits in Book 1 (In the Beginning), Lionel Lockspring is now living a quiet, contented life with his wife and children, in the quiet seclusion of the Breacon Beacons. Events elsewhere, in Swansea and far off in outer space, conspire to ruin Lionel's idyllic existence and force him to get involved in a project that combines everything he hates.