In an alternate Victorian England, young Arthur and his sister Myrtle, residents of Larklight, a floating house in one of Her Majesty's outer space territories, uncover a spidery plot to destroy the solar system

When the festive season arrives at Larklight, so does some unsettling news. A sinister-looking cloud is fast approaching the outskirts of the Known Universe. The closest planet, Georgium Sidus, has but two human inhabitants: the missionary Revd Cruet and his daughter Charity. Their most recent communication read: 'Great danger . . . imperative that -'

And so, aboard a naval gunship, Art, Myrtle and family bravely go where only one man

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