The Last Toll Collector

What would you do if AI outcompeted you so completely that it negated your role in society?

Welcome to Valerie Tobruk’s life. Her job as a toll collector on the Golden Gate Bridge was made redundant when toll collection was automated in 2013. Since then, she’s struggled to find a job which AI can’t do better than her. She feels useless and lost.

To escape from her life, Valerie travels to the Westfjords, a remote part of Iceland where people go to disappear and nature reigns supreme. Once there, she discovers an abandoned herring factory where she decides to reside as the founder of a new independent nation called Tobruk where people are valued for their humanness.

Valerie doesn’t remain alone for long. A cast of lost souls descend upon Tobruk, as do a series of perplexing challenges presented by the outside world. But there’s worse to come. When the darkness of winter descends, the citizens of Tobruk must face up to their deepest fears if they are to survive.

Join Valerie for a gripping, bewitching, inspirational journey.

"A combination of Lord of the Flies meets Life of Pi meets the Simpsons episode where Lisa creates an entire civilization in a petrie dish, this is a riveting, modern take on the classic hero’s journey ... a true page-turner.” — To Make Much of Time

Nominated for the 2025 Booker Prize

Winner of Beyond Boundaries Book Award

Winner the Book of the Earth Award