The Pallisers: Set 3

Part Eighteen: Jailed and awaiting trial on a murder charge, Phineas struggles to maintain hope. The Pallisers and Chilterns put their resources behind exonerating him, but Marie (Madame Max) emerges as Phineas' most passionate defender. Adelaide settles on an impractical match.

Part Nineteen: After his trial, Phineas faces a personal dilemma. The Pallisers host two happy weddings, but a general election casts a pall over the household.

Part Twenty: A Coalition Government is formed with Planty as Prime Minister. Glencora rushes headlong into her new social duties, alarming Planty. Lopez, an ambitious young man of mysterious origins, curries favor with the Pallisers and with Abel Wharton, whose daughter he is romancing.

Part Twenty-One: With Glencora's imprudent encouragement, Lopez furthers his political ambitions. He also obtains Abel Wharton's consent to marry Emily. When they meet at Gatherum, sparks fly between Lady Mary and Silverbridge's friend Frank Tregear.

Part Twenty-Two: Silverbridge sees his childhood friend Lady Mabel Grex in a new light. Planty thwarts Lopez's political ploy but feels honor bound to pay his expenses. Lopez retaliates by selling his story to the newspaper.

Part Twenty-Three: The veil falls from Emily's eyes as her husband reveals an escape plan financed by her father's money. When the news story about Lopez breaks, a debate ensues in which Phineas defends Planty and discredits Lopez.

Part Twenty-Four: Though Planty refuses to blame her, Glencora is devastated by the trouble she has caused him. Once again, he places his loyalty to her above his political ambitions. Lady Mary and Frank secretly vow their love, while Silverbridge is thwarted in sealing a match his father approves of.

Part Twenty-Five: Gerald is sent down from school for truancy and Silverbridge reveals stunning news about his political views. When she is taken ill, Glencora tries valiantly to keep her promise to help Mary.

Part Twenty-Six: Her good friend Marie intercedes on Glencora's behalf as Planty sorts out his family's problems. When he understands their mother's wish for them, Plantagenet accedes to his children's choices. And the political scene beckons him once again.