Precipice: The thrilling new novel from the no.1 bestseller Robert Harris

A WORLD ON THE BRINK OF WAR. AN AFFAIR ON THE EDGE OF SCANDAL.

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR

‘A riveting tale of politics, war and erotic obsession’ Sunday Times

‘His most enthralling yet . . . a slam dunk of a plot . . . extraordinary’ Nicholas Coleridge, Independent

‘Gripping . . . Harris also has the John le Carré gift for showing how meetings can become a form of blood sport’ Jake Kerridge, Telegraph

'Splendid' Max Hastings, Sunday Times

Summer 1914. A world on the brink of catastrophe.

In London, 26-year-old Venetia Stanley – aristocratic, clever, bored, reckless – is having a love affair with the Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, a man more than twice her age. He writes to her obsessively, sharing the most sensitive matters of state.

As Asquith reluctantly leads the country into war with Germany, a young intelligence officer is assigned to investigate a leak of top secret documents – and suddenly what was a sexual intrigue becomes a matter of national security that will alter the course of political history.

Seamlessly weaving fact and fiction in a way that no writer does better,