Boris Johnson's first novel, Seventy-Two Virgins is a no-holds-barred political satire, a comic romp peopled with a gallery of grotesques which lampoons both the absurdities and the extremes of modern society.

The American President, on a State Visit to Britain is giving a major address to a top-level audience in Westminster Hall. Ferocious security – with some difficulties in communication – is provided by a joint force of the United States Secret Service and Scotland Yard. The best sharpshooters from both countries are stationed on the roof of the Parliament buildings.