First published 1966
Brian Leonard operates as an unconventional secret agent, bringing his own brand of absurd professionalism to a classified mission. He arrives at an English military installation where soldiers prepare for the mysterious Operation Apollo. Leonard encounters James Churchill, a young officer who has recently been released from the psychiatric ward after a mental breakdown. The base houses an eccentric collection of personnel: a widow who openly maintains relationships with multiple men, a psychiatrist who struggles with his own focus, a chaplain who has lost his faith, and an officer whose drinking has become his defining characteristic. As Leonard navigates this collection of damaged and unpredictable individuals, the operation moves forward despite the chaos surrounding it. The mission becomes secondary to the human drama unfolding among these broken people trying to function within military structure. Leonard must complete his assignment while managing the volatile personalities and personal crises that threaten to derail everything around him.
Genres: fiction, 20th-century, military-fiction, adventure, mystery, british-literature, action, espionage
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: England, Military Installation
Period: 20th-century
307 pages · Hardcover · Harcourt, Brace & World
Content warnings: mental-illness