

0-3
FICTION
256 Pages, 5 x 7.75
Formats: Cloth, EPUB
Cloth, $24.99 (US $24.99) (CA $35.99)
Publication Date: May 2026
ISBN 9781785634406
Rights: US & CA
Eye Books (May 2026)
Lightning Books
Mild-mannered editor Ben Fairweather is horrified when his genteel religious magazine is taken over by a fanatical movement that believes animals are closer to God than humans—and should receive Holy Communion.
As this bizarre theology sparks a national revival, Ben is swiftly canceled as a pet-phobic bigot and forced to start over as a nightclub pianist.
There he meets journalist Anita Scott, who’s determined to expose Russian oligarch Oleg Ogorodnikov—recently elevated to the House of Lords—for what she believes is cultural vandalism. But Ogorodnikov’s real scheme is far more sinister: a plot to seize control of London’s financial system.
Unaware that his own fingerprints are all over the theological unrest, Ben and Anita are drawn into a high-stakes world of espionage, art forgery, artificial intelligence, and murder.
Anthony Gardner’s ingenious caper blends madcap intrigue with sharp satire, capturing the absurdities of modern life—religious extremism, power-hungry elites, and the rise of the machines—in a story that is both thrilling and darkly funny.