He dreams. She plans. Together they act out their erotic fantasies. Matthew is a wannabe writer living in Spain, who through chance picks up some travel writing work. Through this channel he encounters the mysterious Ed Shannon, who blackmails him into carrying out low-level assignments for British Intelligence during his travel-writing trips. Matthew is a highly imaginative person, as is his partner Kathryn. They enjoy a love life based on the reconstruction of famous literary or historical amorous encounters, mixing fantasy with eroticism. As a rising star in the travel publishing industry, Matthew gets more deeply involved in potentially dangerous intelligence work, ending up on the shores of the massive Lake Van in remote Eastern Turkey, where he learns the meaning of fear. Escaping from Turkey, he heads home to join Kathryn, who has invited him to adopt the persona of Horatio Nelson in the bed chamber of Lady Emma Hamilton. His mission in Turkey rebounds on him when both he and Kathryn are trapped in a deadly plot involving the PKK, the Kurdish dissident group. With their lives at stake, an unexpected conclusion is reached.