Stella Rimington – författare

STELLA RIMINGTON'S THE HIDDEN HAND IS OUT NOW 'Races along at breakneck speed. Packed with insider information, this is not one to miss' M. W. CRAVENOne lie put the nation at risk. Another might save it.Harry Bristow: policeman, father, chauffeur, fraud.In 1988 Harry made one mistake: he took a bribe, letting a man he knew as Igor into Britain – and he’s regretted it ever since. So when he recognises Igor many years later as his newly-elected MP, he knows he has to come clean. But the MP recognises him too – and Harry fears what he might do next.Peter Robinson, MP: salesman, politician, bachelor, spy.It was easy to get into Britain in 1988 as an illegal, working deep undercover, but the break-up of the Soviet Union cut Robinson off from his homeland. He’s inching closer to Britain’s levers of power – but now the one man who knows his secret has reappeared. With no way to contact Moscow, he must act fast to preserve his position and reap its rewards – at any cost.Manon Tyler, CIA analyst, has just boarded a plane to London – with a report on Russian illegals to read.'Intriguing and very cleverly-plotted' ALEX GERLISPRAISE FOR STELLA RIMINGTON:'Damn good' Daily Telegraph'A must-read for fans of contemporary spy fiction' Publishers Weekly'This is something rare: the spy novel that prizes authenticity over fabrication, that is true to the character and spirit of intelligence work' Mail on Sunday

'Stella Rimington was the first female director general of Britain’s MI5 and brings true authenticity to her tale of intellectual thievery' Irish IndependentA historic institution is hiding a very modern threat.The studentLi Min, a Chinese student, is forced by her government to transfer from Harvard to Oxford University, where she is recruited to an elite Chinese study centre based out of St Felix’s College. The scapegoatMeanwhile, the centre’s newly recruited head stumbles on its more sinister purpose: recruiting Chinese and sympathetic British students to steal high-value research and intellectual property. Unsure who at the university he can trust, he turns to CIA agent Manon Tyler for help. The spy who might be their only hope...But as Li and another Chinese-American student are drawn deeper into a deadly game, will Manon be able to penetrate the heart of St Felix’s secrets in time to save them?PRAISE FOR STELLA RIMINGTON:'Intriguing and very cleverly-plotted' ALEX GERLIS'Races along at breakneck speed. Packed with insider information, this is not one to miss' M. W. CRAVEN'Damn good' Daily Telegraph'A must-read for fans of contemporary spy fiction' Publishers Weekly'This is something rare: the spy novel that prizes authenticity over fabrication, that is true to the character and spirit of intelligence work' Mail on Sunday

When a rogue Russian spy warns her of a plot to hack into the West's military satellite systems, MI5's Liz Carlyle finds her past catching up with her...Geneva, 2012. A Russian intelligence officer approaches MI5 with vital information about the imminent cyber-sabotage of an Anglo-American Defence programme, but refuses to talk to anyone but Liz Carlyle.At a tracking station in Nevada, US Navy officers watch in horror as one of their unmanned drones plummets out of the sky, and panic spreads through the British and American Intelligence services. Is this a Russian plot to disable the West's defences? Or is the threat coming from elsewhere?As Liz and her team hunt for a mole inside the MOD, the trail leads them from Geneva, to Marseilles and into a labyrinth of international intrigue, in a race against time to stop the Cold War heating up once again...THE DEVIL'S BARGAIN, the brand-new thriller from Stella Rimington, is out now.

CIA agent Miles Brookhaven was attacked in a souk while infiltrating rebel groups in the area. No one was certain if his cover had been blown or if the act was just an arbitrary attack on Westerners. Months later, the incident remains a mystery.Now, Liz Carlyle and her Counter Terrorism unit in MI5 have been charged with the task of observing the international under-the-counter arms trade. With the Arabic region in such a volatile state, British Intelligence forces have become increasing concerned that extremist Al-Qaeda jihadis are building their power base, ready to launch another attack. As the pressure mounts, Liz and her team must intercept illegal weapons before they get into the wrong hands.But when MI5 learns that the source of the arms deals is located in Western Europe, Liz finds herself on a manhunt that leads her to Paris, to Berlin and into her own long-forgotten past. A past buried so deep that she thought it would never resurface . . .THE DEVIL'S BARGAIN, the brand-new thriller from Stella Rimington, is out now.

‘Rimington tells her story with the crisp authority one would expect of James Bond’s M’ New York Times Book ReviewRecovering from a gruelling terrorist investigation, Liz Carlyle has been posted to MI5’s counter-espionage desk. Her bosses hope the change of scene will give her some breathing space, but they haven’t counted on Putin’s increased aggression towards the West. Soon Liz is on the hunt for a Russian spy who threatens to plunge Britain back into the fraught days of the Cold War.Meanwhile, MI6 has hired Jasminder Kapoor, a controversial young civil rights lawyer, to explain issues of privacy and security to the public. But in this world of shadowy motives and secret identities, Jasminder must be extra-careful about whom she can trust …THE DEVIL'S BARGAIN, the brand-new thriller from Stella Rimington, is out now.

For fans of Spooks, Homeland, McMafia and The Night Manager, the latest thriller in Stella Rimington’s gripping espionage series sees Liz Carlyle investigating a sinister Russian plot – tense, gripping and global in scopeA man lies dying in a hospital in upstate Vermont. The nurses know only that he is an academic at a nearby university but they have been instructed to call the FBI should anyone visit their patient. News of this suspected Russian illegal soon reaches MI5 in London where Liz Carlyle has been contacted by a top secret source known as Mischa who is requesting a clandestine rendezvous in Berlin. Meanwhile, in Brussels a Russian sleeper agent who has lived undercover for years is beginning to question his role, while suspicions have been roused about a boarding school in Suffolk that has recently changed hands in mysterious circumstances. The latest expertly plotted thriller in Stella Rimington's bestselling series, The Moscow Sleepers is a white-knuckle ride through the dark underbelly of international intelligence, simmering political animosities and global espionage.THE DEVIL'S BARGAIN, the brand-new thriller from Stella Rimington, is out now.

The third utterly gripping thriller from the former head of MI5 and bestselling author Stella Rimington, featuring MI5 officer Liz Carlyle.'A tense, terrifying read we couldn't put down' Cosmopolitan'Gripping' Financial Times-----When MI5 intelligence officer Liz Carlyle learns of a Russian government plot to kill super-rich Nikita Brunovsky – a man who openly criticises the Putin regime from his London base – it’s a race against time to track down the killer.How the man is to be silenced is unclear, but the Foreign Office dreads any kind of incident and Liz must work fast to protect him.As she goes undercover, desperately trying to find out who in Brunovsky’s retinue might betray him, Liz discovers that an ‘illegal’ Russian agent has arrived in London. Is this the assassin she is seeking?Under an assumed name, caught up in the high-octane world of the oligarchs, Liz soon finds herself in terrible danger...-------Readers love Illegal Action: 'I love the fast pace of this series, the author's witty writing style and her authenticity' 5-star reader review 'A real page-turner' 5-star reader review'This book grabbed my attention and held it all the way through the twists and turns' 5-star reader review'Fascinating!' 5-star reader review'I love Stella Rimington and her Liz Carlisle series!' 5-star reader review

To catch an enemy with nothing to lose, MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle must venture into dangerous waters.When pirates attack a cargo ship off the Somalian coast and one of them is found to be a British-born Pakistani, alarm bells start ringing at London's Thames House. MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle is brought in to establish how and why a young British Muslim could go missing from his well-to-do family in Birmingham and end up onboard a pirate skiff in the Indian Ocean, armed with a Kalashnikov.After an undercover operative connected to the case turns up dead in the shipping office of an NGO in Athens it looks like piracy may be the least of the Service's problems. Liz and her team must unravel the connections between Pakistan, Greece and Somalia, relying on their wits - and the judicious use of force - to get to the truth. And they don't have long, as trouble is brewing closer to home: the kind of explosive trouble that MI5 could do without ...In this tense and heart-stopping spy thriller, the secrets are deep, the stakes are high and the enemy is always just out of sight...THE DEVIL'S BARGAIN, the brand-new thriller from Stella Rimington, is out now.

Top notch espionage thriller written by the Service's former Director General, Stella Rimington.'Cracking pace . . . the details of how MI5 conducts its business are fascinating' Sunday Express'A wealth of persuasive detail drawn from first-hand experience' Marie ClaireMI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle is called to an urgent meeting with her boss, head of the Service's Counter-Espionage Branch. His counterpart over at MI6 has received alarming intelligence from a high-placed Syrian source.A Middle East peace conference is planned to take place at Gleneagles in Scotland and several heads of state are coming. The Syrians have learned that two individuals are preparing to disrupt the peace conference in a way designed to be spectacular, laying the blame at Syria's door. The source claims that Syrian Intelligence is going to kill them first. No one knows who they are or what they are planning to do. Are they working together? Who is controlling them? Or is the whole story a carefully laid trail of misinformation?It is Liz's job to find out. But, as she discovers, the threat is far greater than she or anyone else could have imagined.****************************What readers are saying about Dead Line'If you like a good spy story then this is for you' 5* Reader Review'Great storytelling' 5* Reader Review'Exciting from the beginning to the end' 5* Reader Review'An excellent fast-paced read . . . full of suspense' 5* Reader Review'Wonderfully written . . . compelling' 5* Reader Review

'THE SENSE OF BEING INSIDE ONE OF THE GREAT SECRET SERVICES OF THE WORLD LEAPS FROM EVERY PAGE' Daily MailGripping spy fiction from the former Head of MI5. When MI5 officer Liz Carlyle arrives in Belfast, danger immediately follows - she quickly learns that the peace in the province is as precarious as everWho or what is The Fraternity? MI5 officer Liz Carlisle suspects the group to be a front for renegade IRA men. Also it looks as though a plot is being hatched against the security forces.Liz and her colleague Dave Armstrong believe that a former French Intelligence officer is involved. But during their investigations, Dave goes missing. Liz fears the worst, especially when she discovers that the obvious suspects have all disappeared.

'The story of MI5's transformation - is fascinating. So, too is Rimington's account of her rise in what was very definitely a man's world.' Guardian____________________________The eye-opening memoir from the first female Director-General of MI5Stella Rimington worked for MI5 between 1969 and 1996, one of the most turbulent and dramatic periods in global history. Working in all the main fields of the Service's responsibilities - counter-subversion, counter-espionage and counter-terrorism - she became successively Director of all three branches, and finally Director-General of MI5 in 1992.She was the first woman to hold the post and the first Director-General whose name was publicly announced on appointment. In Open Secret, she continues her work of opening up elements of the work of our security services to public scrutiny, revealing the surprising culture of MI5 and shedding light on some of the most fascinating events in 20th century history from the ultimate insider viewpoint.____________________________Stella Rimington is also the author of the novels At Risk and Secret Asset.

Former head of MI5 Stella Rimington brings the high-stakes world of intelligence to life in AT RISK – the first novel in her bestselling and much-loved series featuring MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle.'A cracking good thriller' The Observer'Intelligent [and] undeniably pacy' Guardian-----For MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle the nagging complications of her private life are quickly forgotten at Monday’s Counter-Terrorist meeting. An invisible may have entered mainland Britain.An ‘invisible’ is a terrorist who is an ethnic native of the target country, who can cross its borders unchecked and move about unnoticed – the ultimate nightmare.For Liz this signals the start of an operation that will test her to the limit. Who or what is the target? Where and who is the invisible? With each passing hour the danger increases.But as she desperately sifts the incoming intelligence and analyses the reports from her agents she finally realises that it is her ability to get inside her enemy’s head that is the only hope of averting disaster.------Readers love At Risk: 'A superior example of espionage fiction' 5-star reader review'A well-written, well-crafted novel' 5-star reader review'Excellent!' 5-star reader review'This book had me riveted from beginning to end' 5-star reader review'What a great storyteller Stella Rimington is' 5-star reader review'Excellent plot, exceptional writing style and vivid characters' 5-star reader review

From the former head of MI5 and bestselling author Stella Rimington comes the heart-stopping second novel featuring MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle.When Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle learns from one of her agents that suspicious meetings are taking place at an Islamic bookshop, she trusts her instinct that a terrorist cell is at work.Her boss, Charles Wetherby, immediately puts a surveillance operation into place. An attack seems imminent.So Liz is surprised when Wetherby suddenly takes her off the case. And she’s shocked to hear the reason why: he has received a tip-off that a mole is at work inside British Intelligence.If true, then the potential damage to the Service itself could be immeasurable.Now, as her colleagues scramble to avert a terrorist strike, Liz must find out who the mole is, and what their intentions are, before it is too late.------Readers love Secret Asset:'A quick, well-paced read' 5-star reader review'Outstanding!' 5-star reader review'Great book with a terrific plot' 5-star reader review'A thoroughly gripping read' 5-star reader review

Here is the fourth installment in Stella Rimington’s series of thrilling novels that have at their center MI5 officer Liz Carlyle.As plans get under way for a Middle East peace conference at the Gleneagles resort in Scotland, alarming information comes to MI5 from a high-ranking Syrian source: two individuals are mounting an operation to violently disrupt the conference and lay the blame on Syria. No one knows who they are, exactly what they’re planning or if they’re working independently or being controlled by an unseen foreign hand. But given the stature of the conference attendees—heads of state from the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran—no chances can be taken.Initially, the leads look promising, but as the conference deadline draws closer and the clues lead Liz to one seeming dead end after another, she begins to understand that the threat is far greater than she or anyone else has imagined. Her most reliable tool has always been her searingly keen intuition—about what makes people tick, what makes them explode, what makes them defy the most basic constructs of society—but will it be enough to avert a disaster that may forever erase the possibility of peace in the Middle East?Once again, Stella Rimington brings her experience as the first woman Director General of MI5 to bear in a powerfully suspenseful, intellectually and psychologically riveting tale about how the war on terrorism can suddenly—and continually—reshape our world.From the Hardcover edition.

To catch an enemy with nothing to lose, MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle must venture into dangerous waters.When pirates attack a cargo ship off the Somalian coast and one of them is found to be a British-born Pakistani, alarm bells start ringing at London''s Thames House. MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle is brought in to establish how and why a young British Muslim could go missing from his well-to-do family in Birmingham and end up onboard a pirate skiff in the Indian Ocean, armed with a Kalashnikov.After an undercover operative connected to the case turns up dead in the shipping office of an NGO in Athens it looks like piracy may be the least of the Service''s problems. Liz and her team must unravel the connections between Pakistan, Greece and Somalia, relying on their wits - and the judicious use of force - to get to the truth. And they don''t have long, as trouble is brewing closer to home: the kind of explosive trouble that MI5 could do without ...In this tense and heart-stopping spy thriller, the secrets are deep, the stakes are high and the enemy is always just out of sight...THE DEVIL''S BARGAIN, the brand-new thriller from Stella Rimington, is out now.

When a rogue Russian spy warns her of a plot to hack into the West''s military satellite systems, MI5''s Liz Carlyle finds her past catching up with her...Geneva, 2012. A Russian intelligence officer approaches MI5 with vital information about the imminent cyber-sabotage of an Anglo-American Defence programme, but refuses to talk to anyone but Liz Carlyle. At a tracking station in Nevada, US Navy officers watch in horror as one of their unmanned drones plummets out of the sky, and panic spreads through the British and American Intelligence services. Is this a Russian plot to disable the West''s defences? Or is the threat coming from elsewhere?As Liz and her team hunt for a mole inside the MOD, the trail leads them from Geneva, to Marseilles and into a labyrinth of international intrigue, in a race against time to stop the Cold War heating up once again...THE DEVIL''S BARGAIN, the brand-new thriller from Stella Rimington, is out now.

CIA agent Miles Brookhaven was attacked in a souk while infiltrating rebel groups in the area. No one was certain if his cover had been blown or if the act was just an arbitrary attack on Westerners. Months later, the incident remains a mystery. Now, Liz Carlyle and her Counter Terrorism unit in MI5 have been charged with the task of observing the international under-the-counter arms trade. With the Arabic region in such a volatile state, British Intelligence forces have become increasing concerned that extremist Al-Qaeda jihadis are building their power base, ready to launch another attack. As the pressure mounts, Liz and her team must intercept illegal weapons before they get into the wrong hands. But when MI5 learns that the source of the arms deals is located in Western Europe, Liz finds herself on a manhunt that leads her to Paris, to Berlin and into her own long-forgotten past. A past buried so deep that she thought it would never resurface . . .THE DEVIL''S BARGAIN, the brand-new thriller from Stella Rimington, is out now.

''Rimington tells her story with the crisp authority one would expect of James Bond''s M'' New York Times Book ReviewRecovering from a gruelling terrorist investigation, Liz Carlyle has been posted to MI5''s counter-espionage desk. Her bosses hope the change of scene will give her some breathing space, but they haven''t counted on Putin''s increased aggression towards the West. Soon Liz is on the hunt for a Russian spy who threatens to plunge Britain back into the fraught days of the Cold War. Meanwhile, MI6 has hired Jasminder Kapoor, a controversial young civil rights lawyer, to explain issues of privacy and security to the public. But in this world of shadowy motives and secret identities, Jasminder must be extra-careful about whom she can trust …THE DEVIL''S BARGAIN, the brand-new thriller from Stella Rimington, is out now.

For fans of Spooks, Homeland, McMafia and The Night Manager, the latest thriller in Stella Rimington''s gripping espionage series sees Liz Carlyle investigating a sinister Russian plot – tense, gripping and global in scopeA man lies dying in a hospital in upstate Vermont. The nurses know only that he is an academic at a nearby university but they have been instructed to call the FBI should anyone visit their patient. News of this suspected Russian illegal soon reaches MI5 in London where Liz Carlyle has been contacted by a top secret source known as Mischa who is requesting a clandestine rendezvous in Berlin. Meanwhile, in Brussels a Russian sleeper agent who has lived undercover for years is beginning to question his role, while suspicions have been roused about a boarding school in Suffolk that has recently changed hands in mysterious circumstances. The latest expertly plotted thriller in Stella Rimington''s bestselling series, The Moscow Sleepers is a white-knuckle ride through the dark underbelly of international intelligence, simmering political animosities and global espionage.THE DEVIL''S BARGAIN, the brand-new thriller from Stella Rimington, is out now.

'The story of MI5's transformation - is fascinating. So, too is Rimington's account of her rise in what was very definitely a man's world.' Guardian____________________________The eye-opening memoir from the first female Director-General of MI5Stella Rimington worked for MI5 between 1969 and 1996, one of the most turbulent and dramatic periods in global history. Working in all the main fields of the Service's responsibilities - counter-subversion, counter-espionage and counter-terrorism - she became successively Director of all three branches, and finally Director-General of MI5 in 1992.She was the first woman to hold the post and the first Director-General whose name was publicly announced on appointment. In Open Secret, she continues her work of opening up elements of the work of our security services to public scrutiny, revealing the surprising culture of MI5 and shedding light on some of the most fascinating events in 20th century history from the ultimate insider viewpoint.____________________________Stella Rimington is also the author of the novels At Risk and Secret Asset.

The third utterly gripping thriller from the former head of MI5 and bestselling author Stella Rimington, featuring MI5 officer Liz Carlyle.'A tense, terrifying read we couldn't put down' Cosmopolitan'Gripping' Financial Times-----When MI5 intelligence officer Liz Carlyle learns of a Russian government plot to kill super-rich Nikita Brunovsky – a man who openly criticises the Putin regime from his London base – it’s a race against time to track down the killer.How the man is to be silenced is unclear, but the Foreign Office dreads any kind of incident and Liz must work fast to protect him.As she goes undercover, desperately trying to find out who in Brunovsky’s retinue might betray him, Liz discovers that an ‘illegal’ Russian agent has arrived in London. Is this the assassin she is seeking?Under an assumed name, caught up in the high-octane world of the oligarchs, Liz soon finds herself in terrible danger...-------Readers love Illegal Action: 'I love the fast pace of this series, the author's witty writing style and her authenticity' 5-star reader review 'A real page-turner' 5-star reader review'This book grabbed my attention and held it all the way through the twists and turns' 5-star reader review'Fascinating!' 5-star reader review'I love Stella Rimington and her Liz Carlisle series!' 5-star reader review

From the former head of MI5 and bestselling author Stella Rimington comes the heart-stopping second novel featuring MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle.When Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle learns from one of her agents that suspicious meetings are taking place at an Islamic bookshop, she trusts her instinct that a terrorist cell is at work.Her boss, Charles Wetherby, immediately puts a surveillance operation into place. An attack seems imminent.So Liz is surprised when Wetherby suddenly takes her off the case. And she’s shocked to hear the reason why: he has received a tip-off that a mole is at work inside British Intelligence.If true, then the potential damage to the Service itself could be immeasurable.Now, as her colleagues scramble to avert a terrorist strike, Liz must find out who the mole is, and what their intentions are, before it is too late.------Readers love Secret Asset:'A quick, well-paced read' 5-star reader review'Outstanding!' 5-star reader review'Great book with a terrific plot' 5-star reader review'A thoroughly gripping read' 5-star reader review

Former head of MI5 Stella Rimington brings the high-stakes world of intelligence to life in AT RISK – the first novel in her bestselling and much-loved series featuring MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle.'A cracking good thriller' The Observer'Intelligent [and] undeniably pacy' Guardian-----For MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle the nagging complications of her private life are quickly forgotten at Monday’s Counter-Terrorist meeting. An invisible may have entered mainland Britain.An ‘invisible’ is a terrorist who is an ethnic native of the target country, who can cross its borders unchecked and move about unnoticed – the ultimate nightmare.For Liz this signals the start of an operation that will test her to the limit. Who or what is the target? Where and who is the invisible? With each passing hour the danger increases.But as she desperately sifts the incoming intelligence and analyses the reports from her agents she finally realises that it is her ability to get inside her enemy’s head that is the only hope of averting disaster.------Readers love At Risk: 'A superior example of espionage fiction' 5-star reader review'A well-written, well-crafted novel' 5-star reader review'Excellent!' 5-star reader review'This book had me riveted from beginning to end' 5-star reader review'What a great storyteller Stella Rimington is' 5-star reader review'Excellent plot, exceptional writing style and vivid characters' 5-star reader review

STELLA RIMINGTON''S THE HIDDEN HAND IS OUT NOW ''Races along at breakneck speed. Packed with insider information, this is not one to miss'' M. W. CRAVENOne lie put the nation at risk. Another might save it.Harry Bristow: policeman, father, chauffeur, fraud.In 1988 Harry made one mistake: he took a bribe, letting a man he knew as Igor into Britain – and he''s regretted it ever since. So when he recognises Igor many years later as his newly-elected MP, he knows he has to come clean. But the MP recognises him too – and Harry fears what he might do next.Peter Robinson, MP: salesman, politician, bachelor, spy.It was easy to get into Britain in 1988 as an illegal, working deep undercover, but the break-up of the Soviet Union cut Robinson off from his homeland. He''s inching closer to Britain''s levers of power – but now the one man who knows his secret has reappeared. With no way to contact Moscow, he must act fast to preserve his position and reap its rewards – at any cost.Manon Tyler, CIA analyst, has just boarded a plane to London – with a report on Russian illegals to read.''Intriguing and very cleverly-plotted'' ALEX GERLISPRAISE FOR STELLA RIMINGTON:''Damn good'' Daily Telegraph''A must-read for fans of contemporary spy fiction'' Publishers Weekly''This is something rare: the spy novel that prizes authenticity over fabrication, that is true to the character and spirit of intelligence work'' Mail on Sunday

Five books in the outstanding Liz Carlyle espionage series, written by the former Head of MI5.Rip TideWhen pirates attack a cargo ship off the Somalian coast, MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle is brought in to establish how and why a young British Muslim could have ended up onboard, armed with a Kalashnikov. The Geneva TrapWhen a rogue spy warns her of a plot to hack into the West''s military satellite systems, MI5''s Liz Carlyle finds her past catching up with her. Close CallLiz Carlyle and the Counter Terrorism Unit must investigate the undercover arms trade and prevent a possible attack on Europe, with Liz caught up in a manhunt that leads her to Paris, to Berlin and into her own long-forgotten past.Breaking CoverRecovering from a grueling terrorist investigation, Liz Carlyle is soon on the hunt for a Russian spy whose work threatens to plunge Britain back into a new Cold War.The Moscow SleepersLiz Carlyle investigates a sinister plot concerning a European sleeper agent who is beginning to question his role while suspicions have been roused about a boarding school in Suffolk that has recently changed hands in mysterious circumstances.