First published 1987
Robert Florry arrives in Barcelona with secret orders from British intelligence. His target is Julian Raines, a charismatic Englishman who volunteered early for the International Brigade fighting Franco's forces. The British suspect Raines works for the KGB, recruited during his Oxford student days by Bolshevik agents. Florry knows Raines well. They attended school together, and Florry has personal reasons to despise his former classmate. Now Florry must pose as a struggling writer while planning Raines's elimination. But other forces hunt Raines too. A Communist leader in Barcelona believes the suspected double agent guards valuable secrets worth killing for. As Spain tears itself apart in civil war, Florry navigates deadly political currents where allies become enemies and nothing appears as it seems. The mission forces him to confront both his target and his own past.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, espionage, political-thriller
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Barcelona, Oxford
Period: 20th-century
Paperback · Fontana/Collins
Content warnings: violence