Amid the Cuban Missile Crisis, an ex-CIA man finds himself on the brink—in a novel by an author who "has jumped into the front rank of thriller writers" (The Irish Times).

In the summer of 1962, the world is on tenterhooks as Kennedy and Khrushchev square off over plans to place nuclear weapons in Cuba. At the same time, Helm Rust, ex-CIA operative and now small-time smuggler in the Florida Keys, receives two messages.

One is a cry for help from his long-lost father in the Soviet Union. The other is allegedly from the desk of Castro himself.

Heading for Russia, he becomes involved in a plot of espionage so deep he doesn't know which way to turn. Confiding in former allies leaves a trail of corpses and Rust is utterly cut off from any friends he ever had. The lack of trust drives him into the arms of the beautiful—and deceptive—Yelena, who attempts to embroil him in a violent web of international intrigue. Agent, double agent, triple agent . . . is anyone truly loyal?