Saturday, February 15, 2003. Henry Perowne is a successful neurosurgeon, devoted husband, and father of two grown-up children. Unusually, he wakes up before dawn, troubled about impending war in Iraq, and the fear that his city and happy family life are under threat. Later, Perowne makes his way through London streets filled with anti-war protesters. A minor car accident brings him in to contact with Baxter, an aggressive young man who is to change his life irrevocably.