Julia Probyn, journalist and amateur sleuth, must acquaint herself with the world of counterespionage. Hetta, a young Hungarian Countess, just released from behind the Iron Curtain, is drawn into a communist plot. Together the two young women will need all of their strength to unravel the schemes and machinations closing in from all sides.

With Ann Bridge''s talent for evoking place and mixing mystery with humour, The Portuguese Escape, book two in The Julia Probyn Mysteries, is full of danger and adventure amidst Communist intrigue.