The ambassador is woken by the arrival of Mr Jackson, a legendary Foreign Office interrogation specialist who has arrived to 'vet' all embassy staff to ascertain if any of them have been spying.

Ambassador Davis and his wife, Jennifer, are marking the President's Platinum Jubilee with a party at the residence. However, the evening is disrupted by gunfire and explosions on the streets of the capital as an anti-government rebellion breaks out - and cuts the power.

Later that night, the ambassador is woken by the arrival of Mr Jackson, a legendary Foreign Office interrogation specialist who has arrived to 'vet' all embassy staff to ascertain if any of them have been spying. This is bad news for Neil who, blackmailed by the Tazbek secret police, has been passing them classified information, such as Lembit Opik's home phone number.

As the rebellion intensifies, the ambassador has to make a difficult decision. With London breathing down his neck to know which side they need to support, should he risk his career attempting to make contact with the rebel leader or stick to his usual cautious attitude of waiting to see how events transpire?

Thrown out of his comfort zone by an incisive analysis of his character flaws by Mr Jackson and the pleas of his wife Jennifer to do something to stop people being slaughtered on the streets, Davis is sparked into a courageous but possibly doomed mission into the heart of the Tazbek rebellion.