Bob Howard used to fix computers for the Laundry - the branch of the British Secret Service that deals with otherworldly threats - but those days are over. Hes not only been promoted to active service but actually survived missions against cultists, enemy spies and tentacled horrors from other dimensions. Willingly or not, hes on his way up in this dangerous organisation. When a televangelist with connections to 10 Downing Street seems able to work miracles, the Laundry takes an interest. But an agency that answers to the Prime Minister cant spy on him themselves, and Bobs shadowy superiors come up with a compromise - they hire freelancers, with Bob in charge.

British citizens who discover the occult are either forcibly recruited by the Laundry or disposed of, and Bobs never heard of freelancers before. Officially they dont exist. Anyone whos big and bad enough to remain independent is going to be hard to handle, and Bobs not too sure that the one-week people management course he was sent on in Milton Keynes is going to be enough.