financial scandal that threatens his political career. Personal life Simon is a devoted family man married to Elizabeth (née Drummond), a gynaecologist, with two children, Peter and Michael (in the American edition, Peter and Lucy). His desire to look after his family nearly costs him his political career in the British House of Commons: anxious to give his family the lifestyle he felt they desired, he makes some risky investments, accumulates a lot of debt and only narrowly avoids bankruptcy. Political career Kerslake is a centrist Conservative, hard-working and honourable (despite his poor business judgment). With only a few political missteps, Kerslake rises steadily through the Conservative Party during his 30-year career. Boundary changes lead to the abolition of his constituency at the February 1974 general election but he finds another and returns to the Commons at the October 1974 general election. He is badly injured by an IRA bomb while serving as Minister of State for Northern Ireland. He serves in a number of other Cabinet posts, including Secretary of State for Defence. Simon's biggest rival is Charles Gurney Seymour, an aristocratic Conservative MP who does everything he can to stymie and sidetrack him. Simon narrowly survives each attempt to bring him down, and ultimately defeats him in a closely fought contest to be elected Leader of the Conservative Party. The novel culminates in an extremely close general election in 1991 (the novel was published in 1984). The Labour Party leader, Raymond Gould, becomes Prime Minister in the original British edition of the novel, which ends with King Charles III inviting Kerslake to Buckingham Palace and informing him that he intends to make Gould his first Prime Minister. However, in the US edition, Gould is invited to Buckingham Palace. Charles III then informs him that in fact, Kerslake is to become the Prime Minister. References External links Jeffrey Archer's official website 1984 British novels British political novels Novels by Jeffrey Archer Hodder & Stoughton books British novels adapted into television shows