A cabal of Russian oligarchs instigates unrest in the far east of Russia as the first stage of an attempt to unseat Vladimir Putin. Britain offers covert support in the form of five MI7 agents. The disturbances mirror those in Eastern Ukraine and, if pushed far enough, might persuade the Kremlin to retract its territorial interests in Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia.

However, once the five operatives are shipped east, events take an unexpected turn. One by one, they begin to disappear.

Enter Grey Department's John Mordred, by grudging consensus, MI7's best agent. Young, idiosyncratic and a linguistic genius, Mordred prefers diplomacy to battle, doing the right thing to defending the realm.

Yet he won't necessarily duck a confrontation. Especially when the lives of his fellow agents are at stake.