It is the late 1960s and the world begins to split. While Frederica, the spirited heroine, falls into a career in television in London, tumultuous events in her home county of Yorkshire threaten to change her life and those of the people she loves.

Near the university, where the scientists Luk and Jacqueline are studying snails, neurons and the working of the brain, an anti-university springs up. On the high moors nearby a gentle therapeutic community is taken over by a turbulent, charismatic leader.

Meanwhile, visions of blood and flames, of mirrors and doubles, share the refracting energy of Frederica’s mosaic-like television shows.