New York Times bestselling author Alan Furst is widely recognized as master of the historical spy novel. Furst's works are vivid evocations of long-forgotten heroes and feature plots that unfold to the inexorable cadence of history. Night Soldiersis a simultaneously thrilling and illuminating tale of espionage set in 1934.
In Vidin, Bulgaria, where the flow of the river Danube has always brought thieves and conquerors, Khristo Stoianev witnesses his younger brother kicked to death by fascist militia. These are simple men of a backwater town, costumed in fresh uniforms emblazoned with a flaming cross insignia. But behind their barbaric actions stands the swastika. From the terror-plagued Balkans, Khristo, a virgin in the ways of the outside world, is drawn east, toward Moscow and a new life as a Soviet spy.