Cometh the Hour opens with the reading of the suicide note of Alex Fisher, MP. This note has potentially devastating consequences for Harry and Emma Clifton, Sir Giles Barrington and Lady Virginia Fennick.

Sir Giles must decide whether to divulge the contents of the note to the press. If he does so it could ruin his political career. He also is considering to end this career to try to rescue a lady he met and loves (Karin) who is in East Germany and barred by that government from emigrating to England. He also must consider whether Karin loves him or whether she is a spy for the Russians.

Lady Virginia, the ex-wife of Sir Giles, is facing bankruptcy because she does not know how to wisely manage her money. She seems certain to lose about everything until she is introduced to a wealthy, but gullible, man from Louisiana, Cyrus T. Grant III. Lady Virginia cooks up a scheme to force Grant to pay her a generous monthly sum for years to come.

Sebastian Clifton is now the Chief Executive of Farthings Bank and because he lost his fiancé years before is now a workaholic. He falls for Priya, a beautiful Indian girl. But her parents have already chosen her future husband and she has no say in the matter. Sebastian also makes contact with his fiancé and their daughter to see whether the old relationship can be patched up. Sebastian's ruthless enemies Adrian Sloane and Desmond Mellor are still plotting to take over Farthings and will stop at nothing, legal or otherwise, to achieve their goal.

Harry Clifton, now in his mid-50's, has been working to get Anatoly Babakov, who wrote an unauthorized account of Joseph Stalin, released from a gulag in Siberia and allowed to travel to New York, where his wife had lived for many years following his imprisonment.

This book is full of the unexpected twists and turns characteristic of Archer's novels. At times this story is tragic and sad. Other times it is hopeful. Still other times the tale is funny, even hilarious.