Saturday, Februar 15, 2003. Henry Perowne is a contented man - a successful neursurgeon, the devoted husband of Raslind and proud hater of two grown-up children. Unsually, he wakes before dawn, drawn to the window and filled with a growing unease. As he looks out at the night sky he is troubled by the state of the world - the impending war against Iraq, a gathering pessimism since 9/11, and a fear that his city and his happy family life are under threat.