Title: The Prescott proposals
First published: 1954
Description: Mrs. Mary Prescott, the U.S. delegate to the U.N., has presented proposals that a U.N. committee should discuss the areas of agreement between the member countries, rather than the differences. On the night Mary is to make an important speech on the proposals, the Czech delegate, with whom she had once had a romantic affair, comes to her home, where he dies of a sudden heart attack. A few minutes after this, the English, French, Russian and Pakistani delegates arrive at Mary's apartment for cocktails. The four delegates remove the body to the Czechoslovakian headquarters where it can be found without compromising Mary or her proposals and they all pledge secrecy. However, one of the four delegates breaks his oath and phones the police. The resulting international complications threaten to wreck the proposals and the lives of those involved, until the guilty delegate reveals his basic humanity and vindicates Mary. There is also a romance between Mary and a radio commentator who has reserved judgment on her proposals, and during the course of the play she wins both the commentator and his approval of her political action.
LC classification: PS3523.I575 P7