A spy and war novel based on true facts, published here for the first time.
Moscow, March 1938, at the time of the great Stalinist trials and purges. Greek Ambassador D. Nikolopoulos learns of a lethal secret about the Leader of the Soviet Union, Josef Stalin,"the father of his people", and is murdered by agents of the secret service NKVD. He was the only ever Greek Ambassador to be murdered during his service. August-September 1941: The German invades the Soviet Union and battles rage, Ivan Tolmides, a Greek Soviet citizen fights with his tank the Germans, while his wife, a teacher, with his two years daughter, leave besieged Kiev with a group of children. Tolmides will know the lethal secret from NKVD agent Slussar, before Slussar is killed.August-September 1944: The British Secret Service is informed about the existence of the secret. Its chief, Sir Stuart Menzies sends his best agent, Andrew Bond, to penetrate into Soviet Georgia and extricate Tolmides and his family in exchange for the secret Tolmides has in his possession. But NKVD learns of this and a hair-raising pursuit takes place over the mountains of the Kaukasus in their flight to freedom. 9 October 1944, Moscow: Churchill meets Stalin and negotiates the fate of Greece in the so-called percentages agreement.But which is the lethal secret and why does Greece’ s fate depend on this?Was Stalin an informer of the tsarist secret service before the Russian revolution?An action packed breathtaking spy and war thriller.