Mountolive is the third novel in the dazzling Alexandria Quartet. In the earlier novels, Justine's story was narrated by the Irish schoolteacher who was desperately in love with her. Here, the point of view has shifted. This time the central character is David Mountolive, an English diplomat tied to Egypt by the love affair of his youth, who returns as British Ambassador. It is the story of the conspiracy that motivated the lives of Mountolive's friends and, though it baffled him, affected his life as well -- and of the political intrigue, merely hinted at, which in reality lay at the heart of Justine and Balthazar.