Alex is a disgruntled waiter at a snobby exclusive restaurant who falls on hard times. Forced to deal with the contempt and disgust of the upper class, Alex & cohorts attempt to go on a rampage. Meanwhile, General Karprov and Spider plot to involve the inept anarchists into their plans to derail the prime-minister-to-be's campaign.
Will they starve her? Shave her head? Force her to wear a hair shirt? Elspeth's friends and family react with horror, grief and even derision to her desire to become a nun. She experiences her parents' hurt, her fiancee's feeling of betrayal, her friends' incomprehension - and her own obstinate joy.