England in the 90s, a dark and desolate place. Football Hooligans have overthrown the government and divided England into four territories controlled by the Four Clubs. The economy has continued to decline, 'slum clearance has given way to slum creation', and violence is everywhere.
The story itself is a fairly uninspiring journey through this dystopian/post-apocalyptic England.
The characters are so bland that it was easy to forget who they were. When a character from early on shows up in a later chapter, in a way that was supposed to be a dramatic reveal, I genuinely couldn't remember who he was.
The plot veers from simplistic journey to wildly overcomplicated political drama over the course of a single chapter halfway through. The character explaining everything even remarks, "It is over-complex, isn't it?"
The book is primarily enjoyable as an interesting historical piece which has some resonance to today, with its reflections on political tribalism and isolationism. Published in 1974, between Britain joining the EEC in 1973 and the first membership referendum in 1975, anxieties about Britain's post-imperial future and its relationship with Europe hang in the background throughout the novel.
Can a country accustomed to beating up other nations abroad work together as part of Europe? If not, who can it turned to? America, also an international pariah, is England's only friend - and America is far from trustworthy.
