It's a classic concept of the espionage story: an amateur is forced to into the spy game to play against the deadly professionals.
In Deaver's variation Albert Lessing is not a complete amateur. He is an analyst for the CIA; a desk jockey. But when an agent dies in an accident while preparing for a vital mission, Lessing is the only person with the language and academic abilities to fill the gap.
So all of a sudden he is in a small town in Poland trying to attract the attention of the deputy to the Russian spymaster who is running a ring of seditionists in the United States. But he has to attract the man subtly. If he is too obvious they will know hit's a trap. Play hard to get, he is told...
And Lessing turns out to be very good at this new trade. Or is he? Or isn't he? As in a lot of the best spy stories its hard to tell for a while. And there are plenty of plot twists, one of which made me laugh out loud. A most enjoyable trip through eastern Europe.
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