This country in the not too distant future: everybody is registered by a number in one central computer. Jonny Lawler is a young hospital doctor who has worked out a risky but so far effective way of protecting those of his patients who have lost their numbers. But when a colleague calls him in to see the victim of a' car crash, he finds himself unwittingly in conflict with another form of manipulation of the system.

Mrs Meadowsweet offers visitors to her country guesthouse a truly carefree holiday. Everybody is so happy. A little vague perhaps, but certainly happy.