Clark is returned as MP for Plymouth Sutton and subsequently appointed Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Employment by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher but finds his secretary disdainful and his briefs turgid and devious.
Clark attends a wine tasting prior to reading his first bill at the House of Commons and is called up on a Point of Order by opposition MP Clare Short for being incapable.
Clark makes his first appearance on BBC Question Time hosted by Sue Lawley where he criticises the decision of Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine to purchase a missile system from the US.
All the while, the political temperature is rising — poll tax riots rage, the Gulf War breaks out, and The Lady's iron grip on the Tory party appears to be slipping fast.
In the resulting leadership election Clark supports the ultimately successful John Major but still finds himself out of favour as he criticises Britain's NATO allies in the run up to the Gulf War and a younger generation of ministers rises up.
An affair puts Clark under personal as well as professional pressure and in the mistaken belief that the Conservatives would lose the 1992 general election he announces his decision not to stand for re-election.