Lilly, Lexy and Zeph, the irrepressible crew of Raider's Ransom, continue their struggle in the broken 23rd-century world that's left after an environmental and technological collapse. The swift-paced action begins where their debut adventure left off. Thirteen-year-old Lilly, primary user of possibly the world's last computer (the charmingly irritable PSAI), sets out to bring Lexy back to her father, England's prime minister. Zeph, now Boss of his marshland raider Family, is having trouble establishing his leadership. When the Family is threatened, Zeph must make a choice: betray Lilly or see his Family taken into slavery.
The trio who once traveled by sea now heads to London by land (in wind cars), where they hope to find Lexy's father and repair PSAI. Along the way, Lilly realizes, "They changed the land to fit the road!" She wonders about "them olden-times folks, who fought against their world even just to get about." Scenes such as this throughout the novel seamlessly deliver Diamand's environmental concerns. Eventually, all factions converge in a London that is in "a State of Violent Barbarism," according to the now-activated super computer. The English military, the raider Families and gigantic robotic spiders come together in a climactic clash. Lilly learns through her many losses that there is also an equal measure of gains. --Bette Wendell-Branco