"London. 2021. Spy novelist, Daniel Ambler, is invited to lunch by an old college acquaintance, Simon Birch - who now works for MI6. Yevgeny Vetrov, a Russian oligarch, has made an offer to British intelligence. Vetrov claims to possess files containing compromising information relating to Viktor Rybin, one of the Russian President's closest advisers. But Vetrov, who now lives in Cuba, has stipulated that he will only pass on the intelligence in person to Ambler, a trusted friend. The author, believing that he might finally be able to do some good in the world and make a difference, accepts the invitation. He is briefed, trained and arranges his trip to Havana. But there is every possibility that Ambler may not make his flight. The writer is being stalked across the capital - and the only thing standing in between the hunters and their quarry is James Marshal, the author's driver - a former soldier."