Dramatised for television by A.R. Rawlinson
with Peter Sallis as Samuel Pepys

The action takes place in the City of London and at Whitehall Palace.
It is March 1665. King Charles, supported by Parliament, has ordered the Fleet to be put in a state of readiness for war with Holland. In the course of their preparations Samuel Pepys and Lord Sandwich, who are barely on speaking terms, have incurred the displeasure of the Lord Chancellor, Lord Clarendon-the most powerful man in England. Their mutual danger heals the rift between them.