This short novel contains many aspects that will be familiar to Magnus Mills fans. While the novel is clearly set in the UK and not some unnamed land, as is often the case, this is a UK that has been purchased by The President and most of the inhabitants have moved to the coast to sunbathe. This is mostly a masculine world too, as many of his novels are. The two gatekeepers and most of their visitors are male. Magnus Mills shows a working life where you do what you need to do, tolerate authority and ask as few questions as possible. It is impossible not to read this as a Brexit novel, Great Britain struggling on alone, owned by some distant President and unable to get parts for anything that has broken. It is funny, absurd and beautifully written, as always. ( )