 Rumpole defends Ken Aspen, a Labour Member of Parliament who is charged with rape. Aspen s defense is that the victim made the advances and that the sex was consensual. Rumpole s strategy is to prove that the victim set out to entrap Aspen but the defendant is less than helpful with his own defense. At home, Nick visits with his American girlfriend Erica, who keeps hinting that she and Nick should relocate to the USA. When she sees Rumpole in action, she is appalled at his cross examination of the rape victim. Albert, the Chambers head clerk, is accused by Claude Erskine-Brown of thievery.