
With a new introduction by Deborah Levy & a striking new cover design by the artist Stanley Donwood Ballard's final novel sees consumerism evolve into something even more sinister A gunman opens fire in a shopping mall Not a terrorist apparently but a madman with a rifle Or not as he is mysteriously (and quickly) set free without charge One of the victims is the father of Richard Pearson unemployed advertising executive & life-long rebel Now he is driving out to Brooklands the apparently peaceful town on the M25 which has at its heart the very shiny shoppers' paradise where the shooting happened
- the Metro-Centre Then the main suspect is released
- thanks to the testimony of self-styled pillars of the community like the doctor who treated Richard's father on his deathbed Richard determined to unravel the mystery starts to believe that something deeply sinister lurks behind the pristine facades of the labyrinthine mall its 24-hour cable TV & sports club