This book investigates the internal decision-making processes and economic pressures that forced the United Kingdom to seek a massive loan from the International Monetary Fund in 1976. Sir Douglas Wass, serving as the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury during this period, utilizes his direct involvement and access to restricted government archives to reconstruct the crisis. He argues that the event represented a critical juncture in post-war British economic policy, requiring a complex navigation of interlocking financial failures. The narrative framework combines personal memoir with a rigorous analysis of official memoranda and Treasury minutes to explain how the government managed the threat of a systemic collapse.

Experts and historians recognize this work as a primary source document due to the author's high-level position within the British government at the time of the crisis. Readers frequently note the technical density of the prose, which provides a detailed look at the mechanics of Whitehall policy formulation.