THE GREAT COLLAPSE

Tom Kilcourse

The story opens at the commencement of a global economic crisis much like that of today. The ensuing chaos in Britain provides fertile ground for the rise of a populist party that eventually is elected into government. A ruthless and bloody power struggle follows. The party is penetrated at a high level by an agent, employed by a cabal of Establishment figures, whose task is to destroy it as a political force. The result is assassinations, betrayal of trust and cold-blooded murder.

When the party’s founder is assassinated, his son becomes leader, and PM. Father and son differ in many ways, one being a rough proletarian, the other urbane, and less radical. There is another, crucial difference that presents the agent with an opportunity: the son is a sexual pervert. The agent introduces him to an attractive woman who panders to his tastes, recording everything.

The aim is to expose the PM and destroy him politically, but there exists another member of the Phoenix government, Gerard Lucas, whose popularity makes him a possible rallying point for party and country should the PM fall. He too must be dealt with.

The agent achieves his goal, at great cost to himself and many others.