In the prologue a showcase Chinese missile test (involving non-GPS navigation) goes wrong. Colonel Jang Dong is consequently executed.
Jonas Merrick, 69 (a rusty loose cannon), works in London. MI6 Chinese Desk. He's married to Vera. Henrietta (Hen) is assigned to him - a shiny loose cannon.
Hired thugs jump a prisoner in transit near Manchester. But they get Reuven, the wrong man. He offers to do the job anyway - a killing.
Frankie (female, a defector) doesn't reveal who did a nasty deed on a Danish island until a hired stud, Peter, who used to be friends with her, gets a name from her - Jonas. The Russians want to kill him, but he barely figures on their records.
Jimmy Bolton, who's lived by Leamington Spa for 12 years having come from China (his father is still these, an executioner for the party), sponsors the local football team and runs a network of spies including Mary Lou, a pretty girl who gets secrets from clients. Quinton (a nerd who researches non-GPS navigation) is her latest target. MI6 have known about Jimmy for years. Mary Lou wouldn't mind running away with Quinton and starting a new life. Quinton's warned that Mary Lou might be a spy.
Hen delivers a blackmail threat to Jimmy - he's slept with a Chinese envoi's wife and they have photographs.
Frank escapes from her Russian room and wants to warn Jonas. She's recaptured.
The Russians have recruited 2 anti-establishment squatters to check out Jonas and host Reuven. Reuven likes being treated like a warrior but messes up the assassination, being mauled by a cat.
Jonas is about to go on a caravan holiday. He likes working behind the scene. Jimmy's taken in by the UK secret service just before the Chinese ones get him. He gives names and several spy rings are disbanded. The UK organisations are worried about rocking the boat but the US are delighted to have Jimmy. It's their appreciation that spares Jonas his job. Hen is upset because Mary Lou and Quinton kill themselves, and because Jonas didn't praise her.
Reuven follows the caravan and is about to kill Jonas when he's caught. His death is made to appear accidental. The Russian leader wanted Jonas' head delivered to him. A head was delivered and everybody was happy.
An enjoyable read.
Narrative sometimes switches rapidly between story-lines. Though it was an audio book I didn't have trouble with that.
Instead of a list of sentences with the same subject (e.g. "He had ... . He swept ... . He had ...") he chains them into a long sentence, mentioning the subject only once ("He had ..., swept ..., had ...). Even the Russian's thoughts are sometimes rendered in this way.
"he smiled to himself" appears. Fair enough I suppose.
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