It is spring in 1963 and George Smiley has left the Circus. With the wreckage of the West's spy war
with the Soviets strewn across Europe, he has eyes only on a more peaceful life. And indeed, with
his marriage more secure than ever, there is a rumour in Whitehall – unconfirmed and a little
scandalous – that George Smiley might almost be happy. But Control has other plans.
A Russian agent has defected in the most unusual of circumstances, and the man he was sent to kill
in London is nowhere to be found. Smiley reluctantly agrees to one last simple task: interview
Susanna, a Hungarian émigré and employee of the missing man, and sniff out a lead. But in his
absence the shadows of Moscow have lengthened.
Smiley will soon find himself entangled in a perilous mystery that will define the battles to come,
and strike at the heart of his greatest enemy.
Set in the missing decade between two iconic instalments in the George Smiley saga, The Spy Who Came
in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Nick Harkaway's Karla's Choice is an extraordinary,
thrilling return to the world of spy fiction's greatest writer, John le Carré.
This week's book is Karla’s Choice by Nick Harkaway and we'll be meeting at Ye Olde Cocke on Wilmslow Road in Didsbury — contact us for details.