I enjoy spy thrillers and this one was a good read. The tale contains some real rather than all fictional characters, such as spies Guy Burgess, McLean, Kim Philby and Anthony Blunt. Burgess and detective Frederick Troy are the central characters in a story based around Burgess' defection and the necessity to keep homosexuality hidden in the 1940's and 50's, when the story is set. Troy has a complicated love life and background, which includes marriage to a known Russian spy who left him shortly after they married, and a brother in the government. Consequently there is a lot of secrecy and trying to avoid telling anyone more than they absolutely have to know. Facts about Troy's life and Burgess' connections come out gradually to the final conclusion.