Vimes ran a practised eye over the assortment before him It was the usual Ankh-Morpork mob in times of crisis; half of them were here to complain a quarter of them were here to watch the other half & the remainder were here to rob importune or sell hotdogs to the rest' Insurrection is in the air in Ankh-Morpork The Haves & Have-Nots are about to fall out all over again Captain Sam Vimes of the city's ramshackle Night Watch is used to this It's enough to drive a man to drink Well to drink more But this time something is different
- the Have-Nots have found the key to a dormant lethal weapon that even they don't fully understand & they're about to unleash a campaign of terror on the city Time for Captain Vimes to sober up