Just as Aldous Huxley presaged a grim picture of a state-organized society in 'Brave New World', and George Orwell's jeremiad warned about totalitarianism in the 30's and 40's respectively, Allder has presciently given us a glimpse in the near future of a society 'protected' by anti-terrorism squads.

Her protagonist is an average woman going about life in an average way. Allder uses the woman's personal journals as a clever literary device and it pays off wonderfully in the end.

The compelling power of the book comes from Allder's juxtaposition of the quotidian journal entries with the looming menace of the …