In Damnation Julian Fane tautly dramatises the dilemmas facing the combatants in total war, involving patriotism, treason, loyalty and deeply held beliefs. A clever boy from a humble home, Alan grows beyond its bounds, having an intellect and desire for wider knowledge not shared by his family. His working life begins during the Second World War, at a Bletchley-style camp where he mixes with equally high-achieving intellectuals. But here he also faces his first painful encounter with love and deception and their desperate intermingling. As the world undergoes chronic change, so does Alan agonise over decisions that will lead him to a life he could not have imagined. In this intense climate, can Alan focus his mind on following a respectable career path, or will his need to be loved drive him to actions that would cause his family - and his country - to reject him? At the mercy of ruthless men and women, Alan's destiny begins to undergo scary and kaleidoscopic changes.