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When a plague of ferocious ants devastates Great Britain during World War II, the army brass suspect some kind of Nazi trick. They assign the investigation to the staff at a top secret research base in the highlands of Scotland, a team led by Dr Douglas Abernathy (the author's father).

The results of their preliminary studies lead Dr Abernathy on a trip to the very end of the Earth, where he soon realises that the problem is much, much bigger than anyone could have imagined...

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In the year 1947, Alec was born to two doting parents in the small Scottish town of Tamaglochley. Both of his parents had spent the war years working for the British secret service at a secret research and development base hidden away in the highlands, and when the bairn was born, both were keen to put the troubles of the past behind them and invest as much love as they had to offer in the new arrival.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned, Douglas Abernathy dying in a plane accident over, ironically enough, Nova Scotia in 1951, and Mary Abernathy falling victim to a bizarre outbreak of bubonic plague which puzzled the authorities in 1953.

Alec devoted his working life to the glory of science. His remaining years, he has vowed, will be dedicated to preserving the memory of his father's wartime adventures.

See the entries for Alec Abernathy and his father, Dr Douglas Abernathy, for a taste of what to expect.

(Incidentally, the young boy in the cover is actually Stephen William Theaker, who dug this picture out of his files for our use. He has no memory of the event, and actually finds it quite frightening. However, he assures us that, despite all appearances to the contrary, it is not a record of his first meeting with Howard Phillips.)

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Sadly, this novel was never completed. However, an extract from the unfinished book can be found in our reading room, here: Douglas Abernathy's Morning.

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ISBN 0 9537650 3 2

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