The forces of darkness are gathering. An ancient evil is on the move. The future of the world as we know it rests on Bayliss's helpless shoulders. And he's too busy doing battle with midges, sheep, disobliging bits of landscape and his own unruly heart to give his full attention to the problem... Kevin Bayliss is not a man given to contemplation, and nothing in his carefree existence as barman and occasional DJ in a busy London bar has prepared him for a campaign against an unseen enemy in a landscape long on mountains, fog and wildlife and short on pavements, streetlights and fast-food...

The story of the PDSA's Dickin Medal, and of the brave and faithful animals who have received it. The Dickin Medal is widely recognised as the highest award for exceptional bravery and dedication to duty on active service, and from 1943 to 2015 it was awarded just 65 times. This is the story of those 65 extraordinary dogs, horses, pigeons - and a cat - and of the experiences of animals in war. The story of courage, devotion, loyalty and steadfastness in the face of unimaginable horror, and of the unbreakable bonds between man and beast.

When reluctant hero Bayliss is uprooted from his comfortable urban environment and transplanted to the leafy glades of the New Forest, he's hoping to rekindle his relationship with the woman he loved and lost a year ago. What he's not counting on is having to confront an ancient and verdant power, armed only with a compass he can't make head or tail of and what may or may not be a magic sword - the jury's still out on that one...