It is an account of how the lives of the main characters were interwoven with the success or failure of secret naval talks between the United Kingdom and the Russian Empire.

In these, Britain had to win the support of Russia in order to make any headway with its navy and to counterbalance Germany's growing naval power.

His plot is foiled however when Lydia, guided by her intuition, realizes that Feliks had ulterior designs behind his inquiries on Prince Alexi.

In the final chapter, Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty, arrives at the scene and formulates a comprehensive plan for damage control.

Disposing of Feliks' body, hiding that such a person ever existed and regretfully informing the Tsar that his nephew died in the fire but had already signed the treaty.

Thus, in common with the conventions of the secret history literary trope), the affair remains hidden from public scrutiny and the First World War breaks out on schedule.