Clive Franklin, a Russian language expert in the Foreign Office, is summoned to Moscow in 2017 to act as translator for the British Prime Minister. His life is turned on its head when, after more than a decade, he discovers that his former lover, Marina Volina, is now interpreter to the Russian President. At the British Embassy, Clive learns of a pending Russian assault on undersea cables linking the US to the UK which would paralyse Western communications. Marina stuns Clive with the news that she’s ready to help the UK to stop the attack, betraying her country for a new identity and a new life. While some spy stories are globe-trotting and action packed, this one centres on one city, Moscow, and on a rekindled yet passionate love affair.