In the conclusion to Deighton's Cold War Game-Set-Match trilogy, the ultimate, decisive confrontation is about to take place between Samson and the British KGB agent who, from the very beginning, has held Samson's entire life in delicate balance.

Samson has succeeded in enticing a KGB spy to defect to England, but since his own wife went over to the Russians, he isn't entirely trusted by his colleagues. With treason epidemic in London Central, a cloud of suspicion passes over each senior agent, and each falls helplessly into Moscow Centre's brilliant, complex trap.