When the Childhood Chums signed up for a high profile quiz league, they didn't expect it to involve radioactive slugs, international espionage and a primordial conflict between two central Asian deities. Still less a gun battle in the snug bar of the Three Wise Fishes. Yet with her star player hospitalised by carnivorous molluscs Rosie Dawn, bookshop owner and team coach, is forced to enlist a mysterious stranger with an uncertain allegiance. As the contest descends into chaos and the quizmaster is fatally interrupted mid-question, the team find themselves on the run, accused of murder, and entangled in a shadowy competition with stakes far beyond bragging rights. At the heart of it lie the machinations of iconic billionaire Sir Tristan Dashing, the restoration of the ancient world's most fabulous city, and the whispered promise of a final question which can resolve all others. As enemies close in and the scoreboard ticks up, Rosie and her ragtag crew must navigate hidden loyalties, immemorial grudges, and the prospect of losing what they value most.