First published 2003
Mo Mowlam faces the fight of her political career as 1997 approaches. Labour stands poised for a historic win, but Mowlam confronts a personal crisis that threatens everything. Brain tumor treatment drains her strength even as she pushes toward election day. The landslide victory brings new challenges when she takes charge of Northern Ireland's volatile politics. Mowlam navigates deadly sectarian tensions and suspicious paramilitaries to forge the Good Friday Agreement. Her success earns an unexpected reward: removal to the Cabinet Office in a move that stings. As Labour prepares for another electoral triumph in 2001, Mowlam reaches a crossroads. She must choose between Westminster's corridors of power and a different path forward. The decision will define not just her career, but her vision for what politics can become.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, political-thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: personal-crisis, political-intrigue
Setting: Northern Ireland, Westminster
Period: 1997, 2001
448 pages · Paperback
Content warnings: medical-trauma