The Lady of Dungeness

Set in a future London plagued by a relentless pandemic, this story follows Colin Petrie, a former professor and drummer turned barber, whose life is touched by a woman named Beatrice Mirza, a starship designer preparing to leave Earth for a new world. When Beatrice contracts the virus, Colin enlists the help of an eccentric virologist to seek an experimental treatment, leading them on a perilous journey to find the mysterious Lady of Dungeness. This short tale weaves themes of danger, discovery, poetry, and transformation amidst a gripping backdrop of global crisis.