In a near-future world without privacy or freedom, life is unravelling for Luke, a teenager whose questions and individuality have no place in surveilled society. A virtual encounter with a girl who claims to live beyond the all-controlling grip of E-Government sets him on a quest not only for answers, but for escape. But is Alys real? Why are there echoes of her world in his father, Nazir Malik's home, especially since Nazir is a celebrity artist trusted by E-Government? And what role can characters from Celtic Arthurian legend possibly play in saving the future? Most urgently, can Luke overcome the threats that surround him and find the Standing Ground?

"A wonderful novel… a fresh rendition of the future that draws on technologies that are currently emerging… and on Arthurian legend… akin to Philip Pullman's street-smart, other-worldly creations, complete with convincing, humorous and likeable characters… a gripping read."

Anna Kiernan

Jan Fortune is a writer, mentor and herbalist living in a forest in Finistère. She has a doctorate in feminist theology and is the founding editor of Cinnamon Press. Jan has taught writing courses across Europe and mentors writers across several genres. Her previous publications include creative non-fiction on writing, Writing Down Deep, plus poetry collections and novels, most recently the poetry pamphlet, At world's end, begin, the novel smiling at grief in a house in a forest where life grows and her memoir, at the heart's farthest edge.
Jan writes at the intersection of story, poetry and herbalism. You can follow her weekly essays on her website Terrain, where she offers a community for those exploring writing and the animate world (Alchemical Gatherings), a monthly meeting to explore herbalism in daily life (Triskelewell) and runs the yearly writing community, Kith: for a different story.
Find out more at https://terrain.estate/