Captain Stephen Drake steps ashore in Plymouth and is immediately confronted by a reporter wanting his comments on an attack made on him by the editor of the Evening Meteor. Of course, the African expedition had been a disaster, but Drake was ready to take responsibility. He telegraphed a survivor so as to set up a meeting, and bought a copy of A Man of Influence. Did he recognise himself in those pages? The battle with The Meteor continues and only intensifies when Drake is elected to Parliament, but intrigue and some smart manoeuvring by others may just win the day.