An idealistic lawyer is hired by MI5 to take part in secret peace negotiations between Mussolini and Chamberlain in a last ditch effort to avert war in Europe.

With the international situation fast deteriorating and war with Germany and Italy seemingly unavoidable, Adrian Dingli, a British-Italian lawyer, is in limbo after being forced to resign from the British Government because of his Italian connections. Recruited by shady MI5 agent, Joseph Ball, under orders from Prime Minister Chamberlain, a secret 'channel' to Italy is launched. The channel is a clandestine conspiracy to bypass the British war hawks in Parliament. It represents an audacious attempt to broker peace with Mussolini's dictatorship and ultimately isolate Hitler and avert a war. Adrian's passionate yet misguided belief in the honourable intentions of Europe's leaders exposes him as a scapegoat and threatens tragic consequences for both his family and his country. For Mussolini's real intention is to use the secret channel to force the resignation of hawkish British Foreign Minister, Eden, and prove to Hitler how he can bully the British at will by paying mere lip service to the peace initiative. Adrian denies this reality until it's too late, a fact mirrored in his personal life by his illicit affair with flighty actress, Margaret. . A Man of No Consequence is about how misplaced idealism can lead to exploitation and betrayal in a turbulent period with strong echoes of today's world. Adrian is an anachronism, a man of honour whose heroic striving for peace conceals a stubborn refusal to recognize how profoundly the world is changing around him. Too late, he realizes honour means more than a set of ideals and a darker reality has replaced the world he thought he knew. In the end, desperate to suppress the truth, Ball brings false charges of espionage against Adrian who dies mysteriously before his diary is seized by MI5 agents. However his widow Dorothy defiantly smuggles a secret copy to Italy and the truth is preserved for posterity despite the relentless efforts of Joseph Ball and the British secret service.—William Dingli