Lost in a flooded world and looking for parents who may already be dead, Drian must return to his pregnant wife before it’s too late.
Drian is asked to leave by his wife, Ruth and moves back in with his parents. When Ruth goes into labour, his parents accompany him to the hospital. However, his car careens off the road and into a stream and Drian slips into a coma to the sound of his parents’ screams.
Drian ‘wakes’ tied to a wheel, drowning in a violent sea. He’s rescued by the Keeper who tells him he was on a boat with his parents. Drian begins to search for them. The novel then switches back and forth––from the present, where Ruth gives birth to a baby girl––to Drian’s drowned world, which slowly fills with characters borrowed from his hospital bedside, including Frank, a supposed friend, who soon becomes far too friendly with Ruth. She, in the meantime, reads a poem to Drian, leading him home.
‘The Kingdom Within’ explores ideas of breakdown and regrowth, both global and personal. Drian goes through life ignorant of everyday fears; Ruth, on the other hand, is all too conscious of them, especially after becoming pregnant. This novel slowly draws them together as they shed illusion and disillusionment in order to face the evil threatening their family.