Work colleagues Tome Neilsen and Judith Miller have been separated for years, firstly by Covid lockdowns and then while working from home. A meeting of the IT department is called to give them the good news of their future: restructurings, redundancies, re-applying for jobs, and going back to the hell of commuting. During the tedium of the meeting they invent a new virus, the 'Z' virus which causes people to fall asleep in tedious company meetings. This is picked up by a greasy-pole climber called J who reports it to the CEO as his unique discovery, bypassing the new Head of Cyber who finds out and demands that Tome and Judith tell him all about this new virus, which he comes to believe is called NMFTG. The closely guarded information is leaked to the media who leak it to the government. Unfortunately it's the brand new Labour government who have spent fourteen years out of power failing to learn how to govern in power. While this is going on Tome's neighbour Mr Newsome is obsessed with turning his little front garden into a haven of fairy lanterns, dwarf roses and the Seven Dwarves for the enjoyment of his great-grand-children and all little ones who may pass by.

Judith's husband leaves her for a clarinettist he has got pregnant. Tome has been single since the days of Covid when his new girlfriend had let him know she had slept with her brother. Mr Newsome returns from a holiday to South Africa to find his cherished children's garden of delight has been trashed by builders in his absence. He suffers a heart attack and dies. Tome and Judith grow closer. They join their work friends for pizza nights, Karl and Madge, planning for retirement if they can grow older faster than the government raises the retirement age; handsome but foul-mouthed Archie and his latest girlfriend, the apparently naive young Cheryl. Together they try to make sense of their Brave New World. The pavements are littered with Brite Green bikes. Road users have abandoned any notion of the Highway Code. The public transport system is operating in another dimension. The concepts of manners and thoughtfulness have gone on permanent vacation. And whatever the new government is doing no-one knows, especially not the new government. As Tome and Judith grow closer together so does the shadow of the two viruses they unwittingly invented, 'Z' and 'NMFTG'. The world of media and governments is girding itself to face a challenge unprecedented in the Universe's history. And two people from 'Special Branch' dearly want a word with Tome and Judith about the viruses.