When Mick's life is almost ended by Oxford's influential chief planner Conrad, the near-miss and ensuing violence awaken his sense of justice. Conrad, deeply embedded in Oxford's elite, colludes with venerable St Mark's College in their sale of a 650-acre farm for development. Strategically located in the OxCam Growth Arc, the development will involve bulldozing a nature reserve and its dormice. Mick joins fellow ordinary people in protest. Meanwhile Conrad's wife Kimberley demands a divorce and extends a helping hand to Mick. Tragedy strikes when two people, believed to be Conrad and Kimberly, die in a suspected arson attack on their home. Mick becomes prime suspect. Unable to prove his innocence, he realises truth hardly matters in this game of privileged versus powerless. The privileged set the rules, forcing Mick and friends to resort to blackmail and guerrilla tactics. Amidst murders, romance blooms, yet the fate of the dormice hangs in the balance.