From NATO analyst and novelist Burnaby Hawkes comes the definitive espionage novel of the New Cold War.
During a CIA operation in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, Agent Hector Kane goes down the rabbit hole when he is given a mission he morally opposes at the same time he begins to suspect his own wife of working for Chinese intelligence.


Life has never been the same since Hector Kane was tossed out of the Company two years ago. His marriage to the smart and beautiful Yubi is falling apart after the death of their son. His teaching career in Cairo has not fulfilled him as he thought it would. His heart and mind are still in the trade. So when the CIA offers him a chance to redeem himself, Hector doesn't hesitate.


It's a "one-man job," as the Cairo chief puts it; if successful, Hector is set up to become the next deputy chief of the CIA's Cairo station. Hector will take his wife and five students to a remote island in the South China Sea. No questions, Hector; you'll be briefed in Asia. But in Asia, things get weirder by the day. First, Hector questions the nature of his mission when the CIA instructs him to infect one of his students with a deadly virus. Second, Hector receives a call from the Saudi Prince Mohamed bin Hakam, who claims that Hector's wife is a Chinese spy who has seduced and abducted his son.


Unable to tell the CIA, Hector must act alone. He has to contact the Chinese intelligence, locate the prince's son, and relearn everything he thought he knew about his marriage, his mission, and himself.