by Alma Katsu
First published 2023
Lyndsey Duncan arrives in London with a straightforward mission: monitor her new Russian asset, war criminal Dmitri Tarasenko. Then MI6's Davis Ranford calls her in. The same Davis who ended her last overseas assignment when their affair went public. A mysterious attack has struck the property of Russian oligarch Mikhail Rotenberg on Billionaires' Row. Davis wants Lyndsey to befriend Mikhail's aristocratic British wife, Emily Rotenberg, and extract intelligence about her husband's ties to Russia's new president. Intelligence agencies suspect this president orchestrated his predecessor's disappearance. Emily proves receptive to friendship, desperate for a confidante amid her troubled marriage. But as Lyndsey builds trust with Emily, the CIA uncovers disturbing connections between Mikhail and Russia's geopolitical machinations. The stakes escalate rapidly. Lyndsey must prevent Mikhail's vast fortune from funding a calculated global invasion while maintaining her cover as Emily's friend. She walks an increasingly precarious line between personal relationships and national security, knowing that failure could reshape the world order.
Genres: historical-fiction, suspense, mystery, 21st-century, espionage, political-thriller
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, espionage, personal-vs-professional
Setting: Billionaires' Row, London, Russia
Period: 21st-century
340 pages · Hardcover · G.P. Putnam's Sons