The sinister business of counter-espionage is played out by an array of magnificent characters. Quayle, compounded of wisdom, administrative genius and the ability to live without sleep, wine or women; Shaun O''Mara, who loves all those things, looks like an actor and is an aristocrat, and works with subtlety, artistry and distinction; and Ricky Kerr, a cleverly drawn portrait of a man who is not quite able to stand the pace.

The women, of course, dress superbly, move like angels, are as beautiful as diamonds and, with one notable exception, behave abominably.

''If there are better thrillers it is hardly possible to think of them while under the spell of this one'' Times Literary Supplement