The book is dedicated to the history of the British diplomat Robert Bruce Lockhart (1887-1970), who in 1918 was involved in the so-called "conspiracy of the three ambassadors".

According to the official Soviet version, on the basis of which Lockhart and some other foreign diplomats and citizens were expelled from Soviet Russia, the conspiracy assumed the organization of a coup and the overthrow of the Bolshevik government, as well as the continuation of the war against Germany on the Eastern Front. Researchers often argued that this threat was exaggerated and became only an excuse for the unfolding red terror. According to the author of a lively and at the same time deeply researched book, the threat of the overthrow of Soviet power was real.

Jonathan Schneer is an American historian living in Britain, visiting Professor at Oxford University, Emeritus Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Winner of numerous academic scholarships and awards. His book, The Balfour Declaration: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, was awarded the 2010 National Jewish Book Award. The book "The Lockhart Plot" was included in the short list of the British Pushkin House Book Prize for the best scientific book about Russia (2021).