Working for P. W. Botha, Dr. Neil Barnard opens talks with imprisoned Nelson Mandela. But lesser known are the secret talks that take place in a rural English manor house. Both sides may win or lose all, including their own lives. Botha learns of the British talks and, with the inevitable demise of apartheid, he intends to control the endgame by using the tactics of divide and rule. Against all the odds, a precious arena of frail trust between the two warring parties is achieved.