In Clive Egleton's latest thriller, Peter Ashton, the hero of his last two highly acclaimed novels Hostile Intent and A Killing in Moscow, travels once more to the volatile territory that was once the communist bloc. The old regime's death throes are nearly over, but danger lingers on. A hot tip takes Ashton to Bulgaria - once the most fanatic of the old communist regimes - where a routine pickup turns into a deadly trap and a terrifying escape. Meanwhile, in Germany, a British deserter from the earliest days of the Cold War suddenly reappears with old scores to settle and new treacheries in mind. The events are connected and Peter Ashton is the man caught in the middle. Risking his career, his life, and the woman he loves, he must extricate himself from this deadly web of deceit.