In 2020, Britain is ruled by the Knights of God, a fascist religious order – founded by the Prior Mordrin (Woodvine) – that came to power during a brutal civil war that began in 2000, during which the Royal Family were supposedly all slaughtered by Hugo (Fellowes) and the civilian government collapsed leaving the Knights free to step into the power vacuum. Mordrin has renamed the south of England "Anglia", while the north and Scotland – which has only recently been brought under control – he calls "Northumbria." In between is the "Wasteland", the former industrial regions of Lancashire and southern Yorkshire, where the remaining resistance fighters – regarded as terrorists by the Knights – are still at large. For the time being Mordrin sees the Wasteland as a convenient buffer to communications and travel between Anglia and Northumbria. Winchester is temporarily serving as the nation's capital, as most of London was destroyed in the war and reconstruction work is hampered by lack of resources.