An unusual and eerily prophetic story from the author of On The Beach and in a similar vein. Written and published before World War II, Shute, an airman, had a very good idea of the coming war and how it would fall on a town like Southampton. A devastating aerial bomb hits the city, destroying the infrastructure and leaving the inhabitants at the mercy of cholera, hunger and further assaults. The story follows the trials and tribulations of the Corbett family as they try to get to safety on their small leisure boat. One of Shute's scarcer novels.