Flight of Evil, A North British Intrigue

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A struggle for power is escalating in Scotland. The country is reeling from the eruption of ferocious conflict in the rest of Britain. Deeply corrosive changes in education and culture have enabled Clive Sutton and his True Vanguard to come to power in London. An essentially Unionist government led by Gavin Ogilvy is in office in Edinburgh. It reluctantly declares independence when the long-simmering inter-generational conflict tips the England of 2021 into full-scale civil-war.

Ogilvy battles for supremacy with radical nationalists led by the charismatic Clova Bruce. As war creeps ever closer to Scotland, Edinburgh ceases to be a cosmopolitan tourist and educational hub and emerges as a centre of intrigue, political warfare and occasional bouts of violence.

Ultimately, the main threat to the Scottish moderates comes from Vanguard in London. The book describes a war of nerves between Ogilvy and Sutton. One an actor by training, is essentially conventional in his vision of society. The other is a nihilist, lacking any professional accomplishment. He has used his manipulative skills to come to power at a time when England displays the folly of abandoning the common sense and moderation which once made it the envy of the world.

It is a novel which blends ideas with action. Bombings, kidnappings, a disputed referendum, sensational trials and a full-scale rebellion occur. There is a set of characters spanning a range of human emotions and from different parts of the world and areas of human society. Nearly all of the fourteen chapters focus on the vivid and dramatic forms the struggle for Scotland takes. The story extends from the Outer Hebrides to the suburbs of Edinburgh and Glasgow’s inner city. There are also chapters set in London and in Ireland. It has picaresque episodes but also ones full of tragic happenings.

The fate of two million English refugees and the prospect of restoring harmony and a sense of unity in the British Isles ultimately depends on who gets hold of, and is able to act upon, a diary packed with explosive revelations.

Flight of Evil involves a race between savage elements who have exploited growing irrationality in British society and a nobler set of characters committed to restoring order and balance. Ultimately, Scotland finds itself the arena for a conflict far outweighing its own importance, one which has crucial implications for the direction to be taken by the West in the future.