Smiley's People

Summary

… the narrative is grand, the dialogue is even better, and best of all is the warm, sadly ironic intelligence that colors even the tiniest of encounters. —Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

When General Vladimir, a Soviet defector, is brutally murdered in London's Hampstead Heath on his way to meet a junior Circus agent, George Smiley finds himself being pulled from retirement—again. As Vladimir's former case officer, Smiley has the privilege of cleaning up and burying the the mess.

But one last message from the general, sent just before he died, hints at a major operation led by spymaster Karla, Smiley's Soviet counterpart. Thrust back into the world of Cold War espionage in pursuit of his longtime nemesis, Smiley assembles a small team of trusted operatives to unearth the deceit and corruption that Karla has sown across Europe—from the shadowy streets of Paris and Hamburg to the corridors of power in London and Moscow.

Over the course of the investigation, Smiley discovers a piece of intelligence that has long eluded him: Karla's weakness. The price of using it, however, tests the limits of even Smiley's ruthlessness. As the game of cat-and-mouse approaches its finale, and with the geopolitical landscape of Europe hanging in the balance, Smiley will be forced to confront the darkest corners of his own soul.

The seventh George Smiley novel from lauded spy novelist John le Carré, one in which all his considerable skills are in evidence (The New York Times), Smiley's People follows Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy, marking the third and final installment in the Karla Trilogy. With le Carré's intricate compassion, the battle of wits between the two no-men of no-man's-land—fraught with questions about loyalty and betrayal, as well as the human cost of espionage—comes to its breathtaking conclusion.