After graduating with a degree in mathematics from Wellesley, Maggie Hope plans to go on to graduate studies at MIT, but her plans change unexpectedly when a letter from England gets her instead looking into her own family history and, as the title implies, working for the Prime Minister. Her attempt to learn about her own family and the difficulties suffered by the British during World War II are the main points of interest in the novel, but her interest and abilities in mathematics are also mentioned from time to time.
| (quoted from Mr. Churchill's Secretary)
"You're a smart girl," Snodgrass said to her, " and that's good. You'll have intelligent children. But isn't it more important to worry about your appearance and not calculations? Let the boys like John here take care of it. Stick to the typing please."
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Fortunately, there are those there who better appreciate the value of her mathematical abilities (e.g. the aforementioned "John") and she gets to use them in the hunt for a Nazi spy at Bletchley Park.
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