Credicombe Down is a prestigious research establishment on the edge of Dartmoor. Its public image is one of secrecy and efficiency with a hint of some sinister military activity. In reality it is a dumping ground for failed civil servants and unconventional scientists whose enthusiasms have become an embarrassment to management and mainstream scientists alike. Some of the visionary crusading scientists, lead by Dr. Simon Lewis (a disillusioned aerospace engineer) are in a constant state of passive procedural warfare with the conservative, cost conscious administration. Their struggle to pursue their research in the face of bureaucratic inertia leads the ill-assorted group into a battle of wits with their uncomprehending management. Neither side is well equipped for such a battle. Ignorant bigotry faces naive enthusiasm in an evenly matched contest of ineptitude. Even after a budget sized disaster the two factions see the past, the present and the future in completely different ways. The view into the future remains totally out of focus neither side appreciating the other's objectives or timescale.