Abernant is an idyllic rural town except, that is, for the simmering hatreds, deranged ambitions, crooked politics, sexual debauchery, New Age anarchism and drunken violence. The mayoress hopes to elevate its social status by putting a statue in the square. But the only sculptor around is a drunk, who loves to shock. Duly shocked is the God-quoting butcher, who has a twenty-year vendetta with the disgraced deli owner, a born troublemaker. Who in turn hates the mayoress for being pushy. Prospects for the statue look dodgy, and blackmail is needed. Meanwhile up in the valley, the ageing Commodore is penniless and has agreed to hire out his derelict mansion to a film company, who are less than honest about their plans. And watching all this is The Mid-Walian, a paper with traditional values that does not like to report anything unpleasant but needs to increase sales, as a take-over is threatened by a nasty man from Birmingham.