In the intervening fifteen years, however, much has happened. Cromwell's armies threaten the crown, and they have the added support of a group of renegade Holekhor helping them develop advanced weaponry. When Dhon Do returns to the village, he finds that the young woman he loved died in childbirth, and that he has a teenaged son he never knew he had. It is in the resulting relationship between Dhon Do and Daniel, his son, that Jeapes finds much of the emotional balance of his story. Each of them are thoughtful men, clearly conflicted by the tasks and challenges set before them. Each of them also love England, and the people in it, and find themselves at odds with the instructions from Dhon Do's home world.

The story explores both the invasion and the resulting occupation; it finds Cromwell and his New Model Army suddenly the reluctant ally of a young King Charles II, and it pits them against a fearsome alien force capable of reducing London to rubble. Jeapes creates a memorable portrait of Cromwell and manages to present the young king as both impetuous and yet concerned for his nation's well-being. He also explores the idea of religious warfare from several vantage points, especially in the context of Holekhor missionaries who take it upon themselves to forcibly convert the locals from Christianity to their polytheistic faith. It is an inventive, original novel of what might have been - had aliens invaded England in the 17th century, of course.