It is modern times, but Britain has given away the Falkland Islands, her main political parties have broken up, and the country has retreated into isolation and political ineptitude Nervous and excitable Andrietta, Lady Palomino, has been persuaded to take up public duties. Driven to frenzy by the tedium of a Council debate, she thoughtlessly murders the Chair. The reaction of the provincial establishment encourages her belief that resolute action is needed for the common good She sets out to rescue the downtrodden by subverting powerful interests to her cause. Beyond her intimate and varied circle lie her Castle and her amazingly rich and tolerant American husband.But the honest policeman Sweeny pursues her despite the ruin of his career, supported always by his faithful Gladys. While Andrietta soars politically and arrives as a brilliant Prime Minister, he never gives up, and finally she confronts him. Perhaps she has become bored by her new-found power, but amazingly she agrees to resign, for the future of her people will be secured by her trusty lieutenants. She flees in a light aeroplane, but only some mysterious debris is found floating in the sea off Cornwall