Having resigned as Foreign Secretary, Tom Makepeace launches a blistering attack in the House of Commons directed not only at the government in general but at the Prime Minister in particular. He then moves across the aisle to sit on the opposition benches. For his part, Francis Urquhart takes it all in stride quite sure of his position and his ability to retain the leadership of the party. As chance would have it, Cypriot nationalists attack the British High Commission in Cyprus and kidnap the High Commissioner thus allowing Urquhart to question the wisdom of Makepeace's constant challenges on the Cypriot peace deal. Makepeace for his part takes up the cause of identifying the killer of Maria Passolides' uncles.

Francis Urquhart aurait-il perdu sa redoutable intuition ? Le fait est que le remplacement de Tom Makepeace par Geoffrey Booza Pitt aux Affaires étrangères est une erreur. Parallèlement, Maria progresse dans son enquête grâce à une intervention inattendue. Si la vérité éclate, elle pourrait contraindre le Premier ministre à démissionner. D’autant plus qu'Urquhart n’arrive pas à empêcher Tom Makepeace d’intriguer pour prendre la tête du parti. Seul un miracle pourrait le sauver d’une cuisante défaite aux élections…