Tuned Out

Synopsis

Toby Grant spends his days working for a digital marketing agency and his nights stressing about how unfair life is for his generation. With a thirtieth birthday only months away and his finances approaching meltdown, it’s fair to say Toby isn’t a happy millennial. His parents’ generation had it so much easier… or did they?

After a series of rather unfortunate events, Toby is offered an opportunity to discover exactly what life was like for his parents’ generation, courtesy of a journey back in time to 1969.

However, life in pre-decimal Britain isn’t quite as simple as Toby envisaged. And neither, as it transpires, is time travel.

About This Book

Tuned Out is a time travel novel with a generational twist. Where Keith’s other time travel books send characters back to eras they lived through, Tuned Out does something different — it drops a millennial into a world that existed decades before he was born. Toby Grant doesn’t get a nostalgia trip. He gets a culture shock.

Stripped of his phone, the internet, social media, and every other digital crutch his generation relies on, Toby has to navigate 1969 Britain on its own terms: pre-decimal currency, no central heating, jobs that pay in cash, and conversations that happen face-to-face because there’s no alternative. It’s a fish-out-of-water story that’s frequently hilarious — but beneath the comedy, it’s asking a genuine question about whether any generation truly has it easier than another.

And then Toby falls in love. And everything gets complicated.

Readers consistently say the ending caught them completely off guard — a twist that reframes the entire story and, in several cases, reduced them to tears. It’s one of Keith’s most emotionally devastating finales.

Who Is This Book For?

Tuned Out appeals to readers who enjoy time travel fiction, fish-out-of-water comedy, and stories that explore the gap between generations. It’s a particularly strong pick for millennials and Gen Z readers curious about what life was actually like before technology — and for older readers who remember the era Toby lands in and want to see it through fresh eyes.

If you enjoyed The ’86 Fix and want something in a similar vein but set in a completely different era and told from a younger perspective, Tuned Out delivers. It also appeals to fans of films like Back to the Future and Yesterday — stories where someone from the present is dropped into the past and has to figure out how to survive.

It’s a standalone novel that can be read entirely independently.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to have read The ’86 Fix first?
No. Tuned Out is a standalone novel with its own characters and story. There’s a loose connection to The ’86 Fix universe, but you absolutely don’t need to have read it. Many readers come to Tuned Out first and enjoy it just as much.

Is the 1960s setting a problem if I didn’t live through that era?
Not at all — that’s the whole point. Toby didn’t live through it either. You experience 1969 through the eyes of someone who’s just as baffled by it as you would be. Several readers born well after the 1960s have said it’s actually more enjoyable that way, because the discovery is shared.

Is it funny?
Very — especially the early sections where Toby is trying to navigate a world without technology. But the book shifts in tone as it progresses. By the end, readers consistently report being in tears. It’s the contrast between the comedy and the emotional gut-punch that makes it land so hard.

Readers mention a twist — how big is it?
Big. It reframes the entire story and it’s one readers almost never see coming. Several have said it sent them straight back to reread the book from the beginning. I won’t say more than that.

Who narrates the audiobook?
The audiobook is narrated by Mike Paul and is available on Audible and other audiobook platforms.