A thrilling, plot-twisting new novel set in Europe during the first world war, from the bestselling author of Any Human Heart, Restless and Ordinary Thunderstorms

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Vienna, 1913. Lysander Rief, a young English actor, sits in the waiting room of the city's preeminent psychiatrist as he anxiously ponders the particularly intimate nature of his neurosis. When the enigmatic, intensely beautiful Hettie Bull walks in, Lysander is immediately drawn to her, unaware of how destructive the consequences of their subsequent affair will be. One year later, home in London, Lysander finds himself entangled in the dangerous web of wartime intelligence - a world of sex, scandal and spies that is slowly, steadily, permeating every corner of his life...

"A truly gripping, hugely atmospheric and vastly complicated spy thriller" - Daily Mirror

"A book which immerses the reader in the coffee-house capital to create a highly accomplished romantic thriller" - Independent on Sunday

"A pacy and involving page-turner that explores the myriad ways we lie to ourselves and others" - Daily Mail

"Superb; hand-on-heart, may-the-Lord-strike-me-down-terrific" - Spectator

"An intricately plotted world of spies, lies and the double cross" - Sunday Telegraph

"A gleeful celebration of storytelling - sly,clever, frequently hilarious,always involving ... the literary event of the year" - The Times