Masterful, taut, and atmospheric, this novel of political espionage and intrigue tells the story of a real-life dramatic defection during the 1950s Cold War

Evdokia knew that the crowd was here for her. Hunting her. She was certain these people would kill her before they'd let her through the terminal and onto the plane. This might be it, she realised. Defector's Wife Dies in Airport Shootout.

Canberra, 1951, the Cold War is at its height. Into an atmosphere of paranoia, rumor, and suspicion, Vladimir and Evdokia Petrov are among a group of new arrivals at the Soviet Embassy in Canberra. Both are party loyalists, working for the Moscow intelligence. Yet all is not well in the new city of Canberra. The atmosphere in the embassy is tense and suspicious; the ambassador resents their presence and is secretly working to have Vladimir disgraced and recalled. In the meantime, Australia's counterintelligence agency is determined to discover who in this new group works for Moscow. Only three short years later, Vladimir has defected and his wife Evdokia is held prisoner at the Soviet Embassy, waiting to be transported back to Russia to face punishment or death for his crime.