Synopsis: This novel is set in Scotland a few years into the future from when it was written (1936). A war is on the horizon, and a married couple, Hugh and Terry, want to avoid the rising tide of violence they see around them. They build a hiding place in a cave deep in the Scottish Highlands. At first, life alone is almost idyllic. But they eventually realize that they're not equipped to survive for much more than a year; that society outside seems to have collapsed completely; and that wandering survivors will eventually come to their isolated valley.