Cometh the Hour opens with the reading of a suicide note; which has devastating consequences for Harry and Emma Clifton; Giles Barrington and Lady Virginia. Giles must decide if he should withdraw from politics and try to rescue Karin; the woman he loves; from behind the Iron Curtain. But is Karin truly in love with him; or is she a spy? Lady Virginia is facing bankruptcy; and can see no way out of her financial problems; until she is introduced to the hapless Cyrus T. Grant III from Baton Rouge; Louisiana; who's in England to see his horse run at Royal Ascot. Sebastian Clifton is now the Chief Executive of Farthings Bank and a workaholic; whose personal life is thrown into disarray when he falls for Priya; a beautiful Indian girl. But her parents have already chosen the man she is going to marry. Meanwhile; Sebastian's rivals Adrian Sloane and Desmond Mellor are still plotting to bring him and his chairman Hakim Bishara down; so they can take over Farthings. Harry Clifton remains determined to get Anatoly Babakov released from a gulag in Siberia; following the international success of his acclaimed book; Uncle Joe. But then something unexpected happens that none of them could have anticipated. Cometh the Hour is the penultimate book in the Clifton Chronicles and; like the five previous novels - all of which went to number one on the Sunday Times bestseller list - showcases Jeffrey Archer's extraordinary storytelling with his trademark twists.