World leaders have been frantically trying to piece together a comprehensive plan to deal with the eurozone debt crisis once and for all.
There has been widespread criticism they have been far too slow in grasping the gravity of the situation; that there have been plenty of reassuring words but very little action.
At last, observers say, the penny has dropped.
Why the need for further action?
Bailout packages for Greece (twice), Portugal and the Republic of Ireland have already been agreed but stock markets remain in turmoil.
The reason is simple. Despite the tens of billions of euros pumped into these countries, together with widespread austerity measures adopted by other highly-indebted nations, investors still believe there is far too much debt swilling about in the eurozone economy.
They believe a Greek default is all but inevitable, and remain deeply concerned that Italy, and possibly even Spain, could get dragged into the crisis. These are massive economies that are too big to bail out under the current funding arrangements.
Investors also fear that banks do not have enough cash in reserve to withstand defaults by their debtors.
They want decisive action now to avoid this scenario. Such action would also help restore confidence, which is absolutely key to the normal functioning of international financial markets.
What is the latest plan?
There are three main strands to what might become a plan of action.
First, Greece will simply be allowed to pay back less than it actually owes. This means those institutions that lent money to Athens will have to write off some of the money they are owed.
Eurozone proposals put forward in July suggested creditors write off about 20% of what they are owed, but the latest plan would see that so-called "haircut" rise to 50%.
Second, the eurozone rescue fund, known as European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), would be massively increased in size, from 440bn euros ($595bn: £383bn) to about 2 trillion euros. This refers to the amount of money the facility can raise through issuing bonds.
This is something markets have been calling for for many months and is attractive to some as it effectively means that the fund would borrow money from the markets, rather than rely on taxpayers, to bail out countries or banks.
The July proposals had already recommended extending the powers of the facility to allow it to buy government bonds and extend credit to highly-indebted countries and banks.
Finally, the plan envisages strengthening big European banks that could be hit by any defaults on national debt obligations, banks many investors believe do not have enough money set aside to cover such losses.
What impact is it designed to have?
Letting Greece off some of the money that it owes means very simply that it has less to pay back and is therefore less likely to default on the rest.
Bolstering the EFSF means the safety net in the event of any default or a need to provide further bailout funds to indebted nations is large enough to prevent the problem spreading out of control.
Providing more capital to banks will allow them to cover any losses from any possible default, as well as restoring confidence in the sector, allaying fears of another credit crunch.
It also means banks would be able to carry on lending, providing businesses with much-needed funds to grow and to help drive overall economic growth, which is absolutely key to solving the debt crisis long term.
If individual economies can grow faster, then they can better afford to reduce their deficits and pay down their own debts.
Finally, it is also hoped that decisive action will at last restore confidence not only in the financial system, but in policymakers' ability to respond to crises.
When can we expect it to be put it into action?
The package of measures, which is still very much a work in progress, is reportedly to be unveiled in about five to six weeks.
All eyes will be on the next major gathering of leaders at the G20 summit in Cannes, France, at the beginning of November.
Early indications suggest it could work, at least in terms of restoring investor confidence. Despite the sketchy details of the plan, French and German markets were up by about 3.5% by Monday lunchtime, with some bank shares up as much as 10%.