America is on the brink of agreeing to scrap the Star Wars protection system. But when the US President arrives in Moscow a single sniper can put this in jeopardy. Five shots ring out, wounding the Russian President and the US President's wife. The sniper, George Bendall, is the son of a British defector to the USSR, and the UK government becomes involved in the case. Although the three countries are supposedly cooperating, information about Bendall is hard to obtain - but British agent Charlie Muffin can always turn to his partner, Natalia, who is coordinating the Russian investigation. Charlie and Natalia's relationship can hardly take more strain as their tangle of personal and professional becomes even more complex - almost as labyrinthine as the political manoeuvering around this post-Cold War grassy knoll.