Despite the best efforts and even the good intentions of those who can see the way things are going, nothing seems able to hold back the tide of history. Not charity. Not education. Nor a sense of destiny. It is all as nothing against sweeping change as it brings in its wake the forces of famine, plague and pestilence. Roland can't help all the needy. Iris makes do as best she can under a hostile government. Eugenie attempts to survive as everything falls apart around her. Tanya clutches on straws. And Alex's life just continues to get better.

5