When Jake Highfield, a juvenile delinquent, is transferred by his exhausted case worker to St Margaret's, a secret academy that turns young offenders into highly-trained operatives, Jake's life as a double agent named Chaos begins. And when a covert mission goes wrong, Jake aka Chaos has no other choice but to become a fugitive; for he has discovered that he is on a computer file named 'void' that is linked to the vanishings of other young field-operatives. However, by using the skills he has acquired at St Margaret's he evades capture, plunging himself into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the very adults who once taught him.
Alec Sillifant's fast-paced novel provides the reader with a main character who outwits figures of authority through shrewd tactics and a little help from new gadgets such as a high-power wristwatch. The author's theme of child-spies equipped with the latest technology follows in the hugely successful style of writers such as Charlie Higgins and Anthony Horowitz. However, at times Sillifant's discourse appears slightly clichéd, particularly in the adult power-struggle that functions as the denouement. Also, the ubiquitous attention to detail and enthusiasm for the intricacies of the plot do tend to become a little self-conscious and excessive.
Despite these minor complaints, Sillifant's novel reveals both a flair for action and humour. The words of the protagonist, Jake Highfield, summarise this when he comments: “If they want Chaos, then Chaos they shall have.”