A two-bit con-man is thrown in at the deep end as a desperate hunt takes place in Oxford, in this gripping tale the thrilling climax of which takes place in the vaults of the Bodleian Library.

In the year 2311, the world is recovering from a devastating war due to the incredibly powerful Magna-Blades, an invention that leaks onto the black market. Now enter a world even more broken than ever before, and policing enforcement has reached a new ferocity. A young man, Kado, stuck between the cracks of bureaucracy and narcissistic bias, has fallen slave to drugs and alcohol. Under mysterious circumstances, an older man takes him under his wing. But there's more to the elderly man than meets the eye. Kado gets thrown into an adventure leading to incredible scientific discoveries, unleashing powerful inventions, and unravelling a devious plot that could devastate the entire planet.

The campus novel is one of the best loved forms of fiction in the post-war period. But what are its characteristic themes? What are its prejudices? And what does it take for granted? Originally published in 1990, this is the first study to connect literary, historical, and sociological aspects of modern British universities. It shows that the culture celebrated in British university fiction represents a particular view of humane education which has its origins in the values of Oxbridge. Threats are seen to come from the ‘redbrick’ and ‘new’ universities, from proletarians, scientists (including sociologists), women, and foreigners. This exhilarating book makes a nonsense of sociology’s reputation for turgid and plodding analysis. Sharp-witted, shrewd, and penetrating, it will be of interest to students of sociology, literature, and for the same wide audience that appears to have an insatiable appetite for stories about university life.