This book is a detailed examination of the rise of the Left in local councils, the subsequent battles with Mrs Thatcher's government and the lessons gained from this experience.

The setting; the beginnings; "the black queen versus the red knight"; the ratecapping struggle; "working for London"; "tool for change"; serving the people; the race against racism; making space - bringing feminism into the town hall; glad to be gay; the end of a dream; into the 1990s.