The Mephisto Touch

Sir Miles Landis, and his equally bored and jaded billionaire friend and peer, Sir John Balfour, have watched with amusement Boris' final actions before his resignation, and the machinations and juggling of position of the hopefuls in the running for his replacement.

While chatting about the difficulty of selecting a Prime Minister, Landis suggests, apparently playfully, that he could easily take a young MP and make him Prime Minister within five years.

Balfour takes the bait, and makes a bet of ten million pounds that Landis cannot do it, soon realising that once again, his shrewd and brilliant friend already has a fully worked-out plan.

Balfour helps Landis make the final selection: Henry Grant, a millionaire dog owner, and Landis stage-manages a river rescue by Grant of the woman chosen for his future wife – a Bulgarian whore he has brought to the UK for the purpose.

The members of the Cabinet become aware of his heroic actions, and he is on his way to political stardom, and Landis arranges for their interest in Grant to continue.

With Grant's house and car bugged, Landis hears the moment when the MP learns of his true situation, and makes a call with which he casually writes off the ten million, and eliminates two lives with no more compunction than swatting a fly.

There is always another scheme.