The world is on the eve of a war set to ruin the lives of a whole generation.
The Railton family are intimately involved in the world of espionage, which will become so crucial to the conflict’s outcome.
With the death of General Sir William Railton, the family patriarch and hero of Balaclava, the family is thrown into a world of violence and intrigue.
Manipulated by the new head of the family, the ruthless arch-intriguer Giles Railton, each member of the dynasty comes to play their part in the ‘Great Game’ of Intelligence.
Through the story of one family, whose lives become caught up in some of the greatest struggles of the twentieth century, John Gardner traces the birth, the successes and the failures of the organizations now known as MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.
From the battlefields of the Western Front to Russia on the eve of revolution, this epic work of fiction tells the story of the dramatic history of Britain’s intelligence and security services.