Charming, vain, controversial, irreverent, Alan Clark, played with compelling assurance by Hurt, was one of the more colourful politicians during the Thatcher and Major years. Adapted from his best-selling diaries, Clark lays bare the personal and political events of the time with unique wit and candour, from his first lowly ministerial appointment in 1983, through the glorious rises and the ignominious falls, scandals and affairs.