A futuristic thriller.
The year is 2046. After dirty bombs go off in four European cities, and a nuclear attack incinerates Israel, the United States of Europe has reached an uneasy truce with radical Islamism. Various city enclaves across the continent have been designated as semi-autonomous Special Islamic Zones, where residents are subject to Sharia Law as well as western law.
In the East London Special Islamic Zone, Aisha Sharizi is on the run from the religious authorities after having an affair with a kuffar boy. Her family disowns her, and she faces the prospect of public humiliation through ritual punishment, but then a shadowy man called Steve offers to help them both escape.
Across the world, in Sydney, Australia, the body of a former UK cabinet minister is fished out of the harbour. The police put his death down to a boating accident, but he was one of the very few people who knew about a secret deal stitched up by the Europeans 30 years earlier - the Versailles Memorandum.
The very existence of the memorandum is top secret. But sitting in the National Records Office in London, failed historian Harry Davidson stumbles upon a passing reference to it in government papers released under the thirty year rule. When he investigates further, the reference is removed and officials deny everything. But Davidson is nothing if not dogged, and soon the security services on both sides of the Atlantic are trying to shut him up.
Readers say:
"A great read. Provocative, imaginative and pacey" (Kate Earl, Melbourne, Australia)
"Gripping. The suspense is spot on. I wasn't ready for the end when it came. Great stuff" (Richard Wiggins, Suffolk, England)
"I really loved this novel. It was funny and thought provoking, and I liked the main character - particularly that he was an anti-hero and a bit pathetic. It was a great read" (Phil Rennie, Auckland, New Zealand)
"I thought it was brilliant and enjoyed it immensely" (Jenni Stace, East Sussex, England)
"It was a great read. Stayed up last night repeatedly telling myself I'd read 'just a bit more'" (John Humphreys, Sydney, Australia)
"A well-plotted and taut political thriller with an ingenious twist at the end. The action rarely lets up. A thoroughly enjoyable read" (Alan Cawson, Brighton, UK)