The British Foreign Office, led by foreign secretary Sir Edward Grey, receives news of an assassination in the Balkans. In Berlin, the kaiser thinks he can exploit it for his own advantage.

War in Europe is becoming a real possibility. Under pressure from the cabinet, the British foreign secretary unravels a tangled web of intrigue between Austria, Germany, Russia and France, while the German military command conspires to force the Kaiser's hand. Who will gain the upper hand?