The book traces the protagonist's feelings as he gets increasingly old and sick, and his reflections of his own past, which has included his share of misdeeds and mistakes, as he ponders his impending death.
The book begins with the funeral of Molly Lane. Guests at the funeral include the Foreign Secretary Julian Garmony, newspaper editor Vernon Halliday, and eminent composer Clive Linley. These three share certain attributes: each has a very high opinion of himself, each was at some time Molly's lover, and each regards the dead woman's husband George with a mixture of amusement and contempt. Clive and Vernon muse upon Molly's death. It seems she had some kind of rapid-onset brain disease (not specified) that left her helpless and mad. Neither man can understand her attraction to Julian Garmony, the right-wing Foreign Secretary who is about to challenge the Leadership.
During the course of the book Clive and Vernon become mortal enemies bent on exacting revenge. The consequences of their decisions, and a pact made between them, lead them both to Amsterdam where the novel's dénouement plays out.