Julian Lawndsley has renounced his high-flying job in the City for a simpler life running a bookshop in a small English seaside town. But only a couple of months into his new career, Edward, a Polish emigre, shows up at his door with a very keen interest in Julian’s new enterprise and a lot of knowledge about his family history.

And when a letter turns up at the door of a spy chief in London warning him of a dangerous leak, the investigations lead him to this quiet town by the sea…