In January 1982, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had a host of headaches. The intelligence services were warning her that the Argentine military junta was likely preparing an invasion of the Falkland Islands, demonstrations were taking place against her decision to raise taxes, and her son had disappeared. On January 13, 1982, before giving a speech to the National Federation of Self-Employed Workers, Thatcher even lost her balance, visibly shaken. iron lady It seemed on the verge of collapse, as her son, Mark Thatcher, had been missing for five days in one of the most inhospitable places on the planet: the Sahara Desert.