First published 2015
On a February evening in 1978, CIA station chief driving from the American embassy in Moscow receives an unexpected knock on his car window. A stranger hands him an envelope containing classified Soviet military research that will transform American intelligence operations. The man is Adolf Tolkachev, an engineer working inside a Soviet military design bureau with access to the regime's most guarded technological secrets. Over the following years, Tolkachev passes tens of thousands of pages of technical documents to his American handlers, intelligence that allows the United States to redesign its weapons systems and achieve air superiority over Europe. Operating under the nose of the KGB, Tolkachev and his CIA contacts use spy cameras, secret codes, and clandestine meetings in Moscow parks to maintain their dangerous partnership. The engineer's motivation stems from his disgust with Soviet oppression, driving him to master espionage tradecraft against his own country. But as their operation continues, the constant threat of discovery looms, until a devastating betrayal puts everyone at risk.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, military-fiction, espionage
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, spy
Setting: Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union
Period: 1970s, Cold War
336 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday