Dancing With Scorpions

A romantic political thriller set in the near future. 


The New Democrats are not inventing or re-writing a British constitution just exploiting the judicial and legislative processes to gain an iron grip on power. An authoritarian government has established itself after two election victories, isolating the King in Windsor Castle, turning Buckingham Palace into a museum, and causing his brother, the Duke of Lancaster, to depart to Canada with a British government in exile. 


Royalists and republicans are bitter rivals involved in disturbances, Moslems and Hindus have migrated into strongholds, the Scots are in turmoil, and the former Royal armed forces have been disbanded ñ law and order relies largely on civil guards, young men and women doing national service soaking up high unemployment. Living through this state of affairs, following a severe global financial crisis, is Harry Simpson who runs a small import-export business, petty smuggling making up much of his real but hidden income. An intricate deal to smuggle modern weapons from France for an unknown end user, probably one of the burgeoning underground organizations, goes badly wrong. The moment becomes the catalyst that changes Harry's life into a bizarre struggle to stay alive.