In 1940, teenaged Juliet Armstrong was recruited into an obscure department of MI5 that monitored British Fascist sympathizers—work she thought was done when the war ended. Ten years later, she is confronted by figures from her past. A different war is being fought, a cold war, and in this extraordinary novel from the author of Life After Life, Juliet finally begins to realize there is no action without consequence.
"Endlessly devious…. Atkinson loves her research, but she doesn't need much help concocting original stories that resemble no one else's and take the breath away. Even her literary allusions sparkle."—NYTimes