Artifice & Innocence

'Artifice and Innocence' is the story of a small data analysis consultancy trying to defend itself against the power of a multinational drug company. Set in the world of research science in contemporary London, the narrator, bookish mathematician Steve Rockett, is intellectually strong but emotionally weak. When a strange flamboyant character gives Steve some notebooks containing an encoded message, he becomes obsessed with his tormentor and the puzzle, at times not being sure what is real and what is only in his mind. Steve's stress is further compounded when a large pharmaceutical company tries to unfairly discredit his struggling business. Is there a link between the puzzle and a new drug in the final stages of its clinical trials? A chance remark made by Steve's sister may be the key to unlock the puzzle and turn the tables on his oppressor.