In this, Volume III of The Golden Lane trilogy, General Clive Colin O'Reith faces certain ruin if he cannot reverse the declining oil production of his oil company. He is in his fifth decade. His sexual power is dwindling, all the more daunting in that he keeps two women. He can no longer enjoy a three martini lunch. A war wound is causing him to limp. He has a recurring nightmare in which he is falling. Distracted by his minor disabilities, he is drawn into a conflict in Central America. It is a scheme to obtain new oil concessions. His British business partner, a former Intelligence Officer is a friend of the Prime Minister. Expecting to get a plush oil concession, together they promote the candidacy of the exiled ex-dictator of Venezuela to become the CIA-sponsored President of 'Greater' Guatemala. General O'Reith's wife, a Wampas Baby of 1928, Best Actress Oscar winner of 1950, now a directress, is filming The Golden Lane, an oil field movie, in Lake Maracaibo. The General is her reluctant technical adviser. It all becomes unhinged.
