It is 1982 and the British prime minister and the Argentine president are both clinging to power. Owing to budget cuts, senior MI6 spook William Catesby’s only agent in South America is young Cambridge student Fiona Stewart who has fallen in love with an Argentine star polo player – who also flies Exocet armed aircraft for the military Junta.

Downing Street, having ignored alarm bells coming from the South Atlantic, finds itself in a full-blown crisis when Argentina invades the remote and forgotten British territory of the Falklands Islands. Catesby is dispatched urgently to prevent Argentina from obtaining more lethal Exocet missiles – by fair means or foul. Cunning, ingenuity and the prospect of murder will become his increasingly desperate modus operandi.

Meanwhile, a battle rages behind the scenes as the Foreign Secretary, haunted by his own memories of the horrors of war is pushing for peace, while the Prime Minister, urged on by nationalist glory, is willing to sacrifice lives to win an upcoming election.

From Patagonia to Paris, from Chevening to the White House, Catesby plays a deadly game of diplomatic cat and mouse determined to avert the loss of life. The clock is ticking as diplomats and statesmen race for a last-minute settlement while the weapons of war are primed and aimed.

Edward Wilson’s stunning new spy thriller brilliantly evokes the intricate world of high-stakes espionage with a rare authenticity and deeply-felt sympathy for the human cost and tragedy of conflict.