Samson's Syndrome

A crisis in the Ukraine potentially ushers in World War Three. A tense contemporary political thriller. A satire about the mis-information given out by modern news organisations. Britain’s flagship liberal newspaper, The Chronicle, is undergoing an identity crisis, leaving it vulnerable to takeover. The Eurosceptic, aristocratic Sir Harold Nevin has realised that a botched attempt to draw Ukraine into the EU is a heaven-sent opportunity to bolster the campaign for British withdrawal from the EU. Using his ‘old school tie’ links with the Editor-in-Chief Tom Hamble, Nevin attempts to gain a foothold in The Chronicle. John Morton, a ‘nonconformist’ investigative reporter, is cast as Nevin’s instrument of change. During a trip to Russia, Morton is introduced to a new concept: the transition from ‘unipolar’ to ‘multipolar’ world order. At the same time he faces the risk that the difficult transition period might lead to Samson’s Syndrome, a metaphor for Mutually Assured Destruction and global Armageddon, based on the Bible story of Samson pushing aside the walls of the Temple and himself being killed in the process. The story builds to a climax when John Morton agrees to leak a declassified Russian battle plan to warn the people of Europe of the dangers of depending on the failed neo-liberal policies of Western governments. This is spun into a tale of impending Russian invasion, and the plans are leaked. People throughout Europe take to the streets in terror.