ABSTRACT
The story takes place in an England that has been taken over. We are in the rural Britain of Bion’s holidays from boarding school, and some of the locations and incidents are taken directly from that time. At the centre of the drama are two couples, Alice and Roland (the master and mistress of the house) and Rosemary and Tom (the servants). As the household awaits the arrival of the invaders, the air is thick with seduction: between the servant Rosemary and her master Roland; Mistress Alice and servant Tom, and Rosemary and Alice. Two invaders appear and take all the possessions in the house. Roland abandons Alice to her fate and walks to Munden. Alice and Rosemary are taken prisoners. At Munden, Roland comes across a friend, Robin. The two encounter an enemy soldier whom Roland beats to death. The men become fugitives, are captured and escape again. A character called “Man” arrives, one of the invading force. The action then gives way to discussions between the characters, and new characters enter. The narrator is divided into Bion, P.A. (psychoanalyst) and Myself. We see the arrival of fictional characters, including Sherlock Holmes. Some characters remain anonymous – for example, “a nurse”. The dinosaurs arrive! Reference is made to Shakespeare, Milton, Plato and Kant, and also to the author of the Bhagavad-Gita. The book ends in a dialogue between “Myself” and “Bion”.
