Can love survive when the world is plunged into an existential crisis?

When Richard Jarman sets out to discover what is responsible for a mysterious spate of fires destroying vegetation around the capital, he unexpectedly acquires an outsize dog, an elderly friend who is a nun, and a beautiful lover, Fiona, who assists him in his quest. Their investigations lead him into the brutal clutches of a shadowy cult,The Inheritors of the New Kingdom, which appears to have a sinister connection with the fires. After a dramatic escape, Richard is pursued by the leader of the cult who seeks revenge for his role in putting the police on his trail.

As the devastation spreads and an even greater peril threatens the world, Richard’s feelings for Fiona grow, and when she persuades him, against his better judgment, to consult a famous medium, he thinks he has found an explanation for what has been happening. But just as the danger seems to recede, the arrival of a long-awaited career opportunity confronts him with a heart-breaking choice.