A circle of spies travels by Cadillac from Switzerland to the Sudan in this critically acclaimed novel: “arguably the finest modern American spy story” (The New York Times).
Paul Christopher is cool, urbane, clear-sighted—a perfect American agent in deep cover in the twilight world of international intrigue. But now even he does not know which side is good or bad in a maze of double- and triplecross.
When a small group of international agents embarks on a road trip from Switzerland to the Sudan, Christopher is among them. Along for the ride are a comical Polish exile, a beautiful Hungarian seductress, and a North African prince with an appetite for women and a lust for power. Christopher only knows that he has to find whose finger is on the trigger of a terrorist threat that could turn the Cold War uncomfortably hot—and God help everyone if he makes a mistake.
Related as a collection of dossier notes on the mission, The Miernik Dossier reveals a complicated web in which each character spins his or her own deception.
A former operative for the CIA, Charles McCarry (b. 1930) is America’s most revered author of espionage fiction. Born in Massachusetts, McCarry began his writing career in the army, as a correspondent for Stars and Stripes. In the 1950s he served as a speechwriter for President Eisenhower before taking a post with the CIA, for which he traveled the globe as a deep cover operative. He left the Agency in 1967, and set about converting his experiences into fiction. His first novel, The Miernik Dossier (1971), introduced Paul Christopher, an American spy who struggles to balance his family life with his work. McCarry has continued writing about Christopher and his family for decades, producing ten novels in the series to date. A former editor-at-large for National Geographic, McCarry has written extensive nonfiction, and continues to write essays and book reviews for various national publications. Ark (2011) is his most recent novel.