Henry Fitzjohn is the golden boy of the Conservative government and aspires to rise to the top. But his penchant for London's West End nightlife leads him into a seedy world of call girls and corruption, exposing him to scandal and dismissal from the Party.

Fitzjohn's role as a Cabinet minister requires him to lead the British response to the perilous Cold War threat from Russia but he finds security and love in the quiet and beauty of Readymoney Cove, unaware of the secret dangers that threaten his life and seemingly untroubled about the risks to his reputation.

Meanwhile, Adam Devon a pilot instructor on maritime RAF squadrons based in Cornwall is hunting Soviet submarines and comes under attack, bringing the UK to the verge of all-out war. When Moscow target Fitzjohn, Hannah, Devon's wife and a former Israeli secret agent, finds herself pulled into the conspiracy.

Can Fitzjohn escape scandal and danger? How will the government pull back from the brink of war? And what fate awaits Hannah?