On 21 July 1969, two astronauts set foot on the moon; far below, in ravaged Mozambique, a young revolutionary, hailed as the saviour of his country, is murdered by a parcel bomb.

Connecting disparate events — from the history of electroconvulsive therapy; the Blitz; Communist revolution in Cuba; the birth of TV wrestling; and Antarctic exploration — The Weight of Numbers describes the metamorphosis of three people: Anthony Burden, a mathematical genius destroyed by the secular beauty of numbers; soap actress Stacey Chavez, whose teenage celebrity has faded, leaving her hungry for fame and starved of love; and Saul Cogan, transformed from 60s prankster to murderous people trafficker. All three are haunted by Nick Jinks, who brings horror and death wherever he goes.