On a September afternoon in 1938, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain stepped off an airplane and announced that his visit to Hitler had guaranteed "peace for our time." Less than a year later, Germany invaded Poland and World War II began. To understand this catastrophic diplomatic blunder, Tim Bouverie delves into the backrooms of Parliament and 10 Downing Street but also into the drawing rooms and dining clubs of aristocratic Britain, where Hitler enjoyed support among the ruling class and even the royal family. This is also a group portrait of the ministers and amateur diplomats who, through their actions and inaction, sealed the fate of Europe.