At its head, not a white-haired anthropomorphic deity with a harp and a throne but a wizened, weaselling old man with bad breath and bad attitude. At his right hand, Bastard Zane, a surly civil servant with a big gun whose job it is to stop those who think they can buck karma. And then there's Richard Thyme: genius mathematician and a man who will do whatever it takes to defy Fate and return to his one true love - even if he is dead.