After the virus, men are rare. Fertile males are even rarer. They have to be protected and milked of their semen if humankind is to survive. Whoever controls these men controls the future of the world. In this female-dominated world all but a handful of the viable males are in England, kept in a luxurious, heavily-guarded ex-SAS compound, prisoners of their own fecundity. They are serviced by 'milkmaids', whose function is to secure their precious semen, which has become prime international currency. Colloquially known as 'The Milking Shed', the very existence of this facility is a source of festering international envy. With the threat of functional extinction looming, England's possession of these valuable males is increasingly in jeopardy as resentment and the rising level of risk stirs up the rivalry of old enemies America and Russia. They both have the military might to simply take what they want. All that stops them is a nerve-jangling nuclear stand-off. After a winterless European winter, a blistering hot summer is forecast. And, on both sides of the Atlantic, heat fuels the social and political passion for procreation. As England's weak defences start to buckle, society fragments and its leaders begin to lose control. Who will risk all and move against them first? In this dangerously fractured world can Fleur Nichols, thrust into an unwanted leadership role, put aside the agony of her son's abduction and save her country from annexation as the major powers jostle for dominance? A mother's love is a ferocious weapon but the odds are heavily stacked against her.