Back to Rotherweird, the odd and eccentric independant British town where the study of history is forbidden but whose science drives technological development in the wider world. From out of the past comes the plot of the evil Gideon Wynter, whose acolytes and henchmen, transformed and immortalised, are preparing the way for his return. Can the small band of heroes who defeated Sir Veronal rally to battle this new/old threat? Not likely. Dispirited and in disarray, they struggle to detect the plot and mount a counter-strategy. Tere's an election coming and the Aopthecaries are set to rise with the help of a cunning clairvoyant. There are sinster books, hidden tunnels, funerals, fireworks, kidnappings and expeditions to the mysterious and dangerous Lost Acre.

This is much pacier than the first book, but just as wonderfully eccentric, packed with detail and life and twists and turns and deeply British.