A WORLD ON THE BRINK OF WAR. AN AFFAIR ON THE EDGE OF SCANDAL. A spellbinding novel of passion, intrigue and betrayal set in England in the weeks leading to the Great War. From the bestselling author of Conclave, Act of Oblivion, Fatherland and Munich. Summer 1914. In London, 26-year-old Venetia Stanley – aristocratic, intelligent, bored, reckless – is having a love affair with the Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, a man more than twice her age. He writes to her obsessively, sharing the most sensitive matters of state. As Asquith reluctantly leads the country into war with Germany, a young intelligence officer is assigned to investigate a leak of top-secret documents. Suddenly what was a sexual intrigue becomes a matter of national security that could topple the British government – and will alter the course of political history. Seamlessly weaving fact and fiction in a way that no writer does better, Precipice is the thrilling new novel from Robert Harris.