Peter Grant is facing fatherhood; and an uncertain future; with equal amounts of panic and enthusiasm. Rather than sit around; he takes a job with émigré Silicon Valley tech genius Terrence Skinner's brand new London start up - the Serious Cybernetics Company. Drawn into the orbit of Old Street's famous 'silicon roundabout'; Peter must learn how to blend in with people who are both civilians and geekier than he is. Compared to his last job; Peter thinks it should be a doddle. But magic is not finished with Mama Grant's favourite son. Because Terrence Skinner has a secret hidden in the bowels of the SCC. A technology that stretches back to Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage; and forward to the future of artificial intelligence. A secret that is just as magical as it technological - and just as dangerous.