"Meet William. A young aspiring musician who has pinned his hopes on London, the city of dreams. A city that could bring him rock'n' roll success, and hopefully the true love he deserves. But William's dreams are far from becoming reality, and his life is an exercise in frustration. His band The Alaska Factory seem intent upon turning his sad, but heartfelt songs into commercial pop and the coolly desirable Madeline dangles out of reach. To top it all, he witnesses the bizarre murder of Paisley, the lead singer of The Unfortunates, by a pair of dwarves.

A hellish end to a nightmare week, but how did it all start? Three weeks earlier William arrives in London full of hope. Chester, his band's manager, has even arranged a place for him to stay. He lands himself a temporary job playing the piano in a West End department store and meets Madeline, a vision of beauty descending the escalators. Their first date goes badly but, despite their differences, William remains smitten.

The same week sees The Alaska Factory perform at the local pub where William's melancholy love ballad to Madeline is dropped in favour of more upbeat numbers which the audience seem to prefer and to make matters worse, William ruins his first solo spot on the local radio station by turning up drunk after a confused break-up with Madeline.

There is one bright spot on the horizon for William - Karla - the vivacious but mysterious new pub barmaid. Karla is attracted to William, but is it love, or sex, or does she have another agenda? After the murder, William starts to learn more about Karla. Once a punk rocker in Glasgow in the late 70's, the only record produced by her obscure band The Dwarves of Death, will prove crucial in unravelling the connection between Karla, the frightening Vincent (who runs the only recording studio in town who will have The Alaska Factory), and Paisley's death. "