A gunman opens fire in a shopping mall. Not a terrorist, but a madman with a rifle. Or not, as he is mysteriously (and quickly) set free without charge.
One of the victims is the father of Richard Pearson, unemployed advertising executive and life-long rebel. Now Richard is driving out to Brooklands, the apparently peaceful town on the M25.
At its heart is the shining shoppers' paradise where the shooting happened - the Metro-Centre. Determined to unravel the mystery, he starts to believe that something deeply sinister lurks behind the pristine façades of the labyrinthine mall, its 24-hour cable TV and sports club.
In this, his final novel, Ballard holds up a mirror to Middle England, reflecting an unsettling image of suburbia and revealing the darker forces at work beneath the gloss of consumerism and flag-waving patriotism.