When MI5 agent-runner Liz Carlyle is moved from Counter-Terrorism to the Industrial Espionage Section, it looks very much as if she has been sidelined. While vetting the director of a top-secret research establishment in the Peak District, however, Liz realises that her subject is lying to her and is a potential blackmail risk. Other more malign forces have arrived at the same conclusion, and soon a lethal Intelligence game is in play. With Martine Charrat, her opposite number in the French secret service, Liz is drawn into a desperate race. But as Liz soon discovers, their unknown enemies hold all the cards.