A slow maturity; fame and contention - Bernadotte's rescue mission in Germany; to Jerusalem; his finest hour - the attainment of the First Truce; the First Truce - the failure of supervision; a solution too early - the first Bernadotte Plan and its consequences; the Second Truce - recovery and disintegration; an attempted conspiracy - the Second Bernadotte Plan; the assassination of the Mediator; Palestine after Bernadotte.