A novel by British cyberpunk author Jeff Noon, set in a near-future Vurt-affected Manchester, describing the attempts of the Vurt world to attack that of humanity by using pollen to induce a hay-fever epidemic. Persephone, wife of John Barleycorn is sent to the real world to begin the plague, which she does by kissing to death Coyote Dog, an unlicensed cab driver. His death sparks off an investigation that brings together a rogue shadow-cop, a posse of dogboys and the world of the Vurt in a whole new surreal and fascinating fashion.