Set in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, With Clouds Descending is the story of the Low family told by a priest who himself is part of the Low clan, and presented as if he were the rector of Ampthill.

This semi-autobiographical book is set 130 years in the past and is mainly based on real events. However there is also a smattering of artistic licence throughout the book. The often amusing and sometimes risqu anecdotes throughout the book are inspired from the diaries of the author that he has kept for twenty-five years (1984-2019).

The Low family is quite a large family and full of diverse characters who deal with incidents ranging from floods and riots to murder and war, that are all loosely based on fact. Every family has skeletons in their cupboards; with some families those skeletons are deeply buried. This is not the case with the Low famil, y which makes this book a fascinating read.