In a not-too-distant time when petrol is scarce, the world's economy is in tatters and people are forced to rely on their own resources for survival, the residents of The Village have created a caring, sharing community. But apparent tranquility masks unsolved mysteries – leftovers from The Crisis.Friends Will and Lily haven't seen their fathers for five years. But neither has Hannah, a pushy newcomer who upsets the quiet life of The Village with her odd technology (a cellphone? in The Village?) and infuriating London ways. Hannah lives with her uncle, the Energy Minister, who wields enormous power but whose activities are highly suspect.Will and Lily's initial mistrust of the new arrival gives way to grudging respect. Following clues left by Hannah's mother, the three set out on a quest to find the missing adults. But their journey presents them with larger and more far-reaching challenges to face together. Is the Energy Minister's 'research centre' a hive of scientific innovation or a high-security prison for protesters and rivals? And what sinister dealings lie behind the new mystery fuel, introduced by the ambitious Minister as his answer to the nation's energy problems? Drawn ever more deeply into a web of intrigue, the friends' exciting adventure takes them from London to France and back to The Village, on the trail of the Minister and his mafioso associates.While Will, Lily and Hannah solve mysteries abroad, their friend George holds the fort in The Village. Pompous, bumbling and a great favourite with everyone, George keeps a weather eye on their criminally-inclined classmate Heather; he deals with the mysterious Nonna, a much-loved Villager-by-adoption with unexplained links to the mafiosi; and he tries to get to the bottom of The Village's calm acceptance of his friends' sudden escapade beyond the safety of a community which looks so conscientiously after its own.