At the end of the act, as World War II draws to a close, they are sent on a death march to Belsen concentration camp.

In the fourth act Kádár confesses to Julia, recently released from prison, that he betrayed Rajk, "for the good of the party."

Though under the newly installed government of Imre Nagy Julia is safe, friends warn her that she will be targeted by the Soviet response.

However it had a significant political impact, resulting in the release from prison of Julia Rajk and her son, only 11 days after the London premiere.

[5] The reviewer for The Age wrote "This is one of those rare pieces of theatre which commends itself ... for what it has to say and teach, and for the honesty which it says it ... [It] is a bold, challenging and moving drama which strikes hard at the human conscience.

Because he has made an intensive study of the history of self-serving men who dominated Hungary and abused its people after the war, he has composed a work that is more like a sworn affidavit than a conventional play.

[8] Writing about the style, Kenneth Tynan, reviewing for The Observer, wrote "What gives the play its power is its use of drama as a living newspaper; the idea is old and neglected, and it was thrilling to see it revived.... Mr. Ardrey, though he never entered Hungary, conducts us through the shifting sands of this desperate epoch with the assurance of a native guide.

[12] The TV critic from The Sydney Morning Herald thought that producer William Sterling "managed to give the action (much of it dialogue) gripping provision; yet his insertion of newsreel film clips jarred slightly against the fine acting.