When Wallace is murdered, the assignment swiftly becomes Melrose's top priority, a question of fulfilling a promise to an old friend. He uncovers a hot-bed of intrigue in Whitehall that implicates the Secretary of State for Defence, Freddie Godber, who is launching a bid for the Premiership.

Melrose and Vane, the SAS man, form an uneasy alliance. Disparate but equally tough individuals, their methods and aims are very different. The situation is complicated when both fall for Claire Powers, the neglected wife of Godber's ambitious private secretary. Meanwhile the trail leads them into the murky waters of undercover operations and clandestine contacts.

Their initial co-operation--and the discovery of more than one scheme for the future of Gibraltar--turns into open hostility when Vane is picked up and tortured in Spain, for which he blames Melrose. The Englishman swears his revenge, and when he returns a deadly game of cat and mouse begins, with Claire as the prize. (from book jacket)