In this remarkable book of witness, Jan Heunis reveals the stories behind many of the dramatic events of the final years of white rule, and describes how the National Party was eventually out-manoeuvred in negotiations with the ANC as South Africa emerged from the darkness of half a century of Nationalist rule. After graduating from the University of Stellenbosch where he studied law, Heunis joined the Department of Foreign Affairs as a legal adviser, and before long became Chief State Law Adviser in the State President's Office under PW Botha. He later played an influential role in the multi-party negotiations that led to the Constitution of 1996. Born into the National Party, the son of Constitutional Development minister Chris Heunis, he himself was never a politician, but worked at close quarters with -- and often against -- South Africa's most powerful political figures. From the insights, both professional and personal, offered by this privileged vantage point, Heunis presents bitingly honest appraisals of pivotal players such as PW Botha, Nelson Mandela, Pik Botha, FW de Klerk, Kobie Coetsee, Denis Worrall, Hernus Kriel, Roelf Meyer, and of course his father, the complex Chris Heunis.