Brighton in the not-so-distant future - a city ruled by a combination of patronage and armed force. The Department of Transport imposes order and exacts tolls, Welfare processes the undesirables, Audit collects information and Parks and Libraries is supposed to stop the flow of contraband. After years of civil conflict, gated communities separate government workers from people cruising the streets in their battered Fiats. In a secure area, four couples keep up a tenuous version of former middle class life - until it all comes to pieces.
