Lawless Rainfall

Rasmussen Addler rules England as both ruler and tyrant, having pulled the nation back from ruin. He has also established a restricted zone called Lawless, and since flying over England or going near it became a capital offence, no one has laid eyes on it.

Karlsson Addler, heir to the throne, has spent several weeks taking bribes. When his misconduct comes to light, it emerges that he has been letting an unidentified person use Lawless. Forced into kidnapping Mina Meier, he shifts the blame onto the Twelve schoolchildren who witnessed the abduction. A message commending him for his work has been sent, so he insists one of the children must be responsible, and he compels all Twelve to enter Lawless or see their families executed.

The story is told through the viewpoints of several characters and centres on ordinary schoolchildren caught up in the worst tragedy the country has seen in the last twenty years. Readers are left to weigh whom to believe and whom to suspect.