A grown-up spy thriller for the 21st Century – Ross Coulthart

British Intelligence operative Bella Butterfield has been dispatched to Tokyo for a very special purpose. Until recently, Japan seemed immune to the Islamic-inspired terror attacks that swept the world after 9/11. But the 2015 beheading of two Japanese aid workers in Syria changed everything.

As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics approach, the race is on to establish a viable, outward-looking Japanese intelligence agency. Bella's brief is to ensure this spy service is fashioned in the image of MI6. But before discussions even commence, Japan receives disturbing intelligence about a home-grown terror plot from an unlikely source – China. Bella is thrown headlong into a complex, multinational espionage operation, forcing her to walk a trip-wire of hidden agendas that sorely test her professional and personal loyalties.