This dazzling collection of short stories can be read as a modern fairy tale or as a series of extraordinary episodes that serve to shape the unusual philosophy of the central character, Joe Pharma. He believes that life is simply a game of chess played out within a giant goldfish bowl and that everything inside the bowl is empowered and facilitated by the creator's master invention; electricity. The secret role of electricity in our lives and the Universe is unravelled through a string of uncanny events focused around an ancient market town on the South coast of England. Joe is the eternal student and the book follows his attempts to satisfy his thirst for knowledge and answer life's big questions. Along the way he encounters violent electrical storms, witches, terrorists, village cricket, TV quiz shows, Swiss cheese pirates, mind-bending drugs and coded messages from Biblical times. For Joe there has always been a thin line between fact and fiction, reality and imagination. However, amongst these flights of fancy, Joe is blessed with flashes of real inspiration. But will these 'lightning strikes' allow him to see the overall master plan and answer his questions once and for all?