" John Brunner - a master of science fiction, catapults us into a not-so-distant future. Europe trembles on the brink of holocaust; unemployment. inflation and poverty are rampant; cities crumble from neglect;. incompetent governments topple to military coups. bands of 'godheads'. bearing crosses they are all too willing to use as clubs, commit acts of vandalism. violence. even murder. One man realises that the only hope for civilisatlion lies.in a mysterious new drug. VC, which he has discovered. - a drug that has the unparalleled power to. heighten sensory awareness and create total consciousness of what mankind has done for good or ill. Subsequent to his sudden death, his colleagues, and a handful of other people, begin to act strangely - a Small group who find themselves compelled to make a decision which will change the destiny of mankind. Among them are a former TV cowboy star turned evangelist, a black radical. a successful thief, a disillusioned police chief and a teacher charged with corrupting youth.";