by Alan Furst
First published 2010
Captain Alexander de Milja transforms from Polish officer to spymaster when the Nazis invade. He adopts false identities as poet, coal merchant, and fascist sympathizer to survive the underground war. In Hungary, a cavalry officer follows orders from his enigmatic Count uncle, trading secrets with British agents and rogue SS officers. Andre Szara, a Pravda correspondent who escaped Polish pogroms, accepts what seems like a simple assignment to recover a damaged briefcase. The mission plunges him into dangerous territory beyond his experience as a journalist. Each man operates in a Europe balanced on the edge of total war, where a wrong move means death and every ally might be an enemy. Romance complicates their missions as they navigate the shadowy world between nations. The three stories capture the moment when ordinary people became players in an extraordinary conflict that would reshape the continent.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, action, espionage
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Europe, Hungary, Poland
Period: World War II
800 pages · Paperback · Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Content warnings: violence