"Richard Fisher is a phlegmatic British intelligence operative; Polina Mertz, a beautiful and seductive American one. Polina is said to have had relations with every key diplomat in Cold War politics - and as NATO decides to match a Soviet missile threat to Europe with American missiles, she presciently understands the weakness of the U.S.S.R. and the potential threat to European stability. As U.S., British, German, and Soviet diplomats meet at a secluded inn called the Golden Plough to contend for the fate of Europe, Polina and Richard - who in time become lovers - are drawn into a complex pattern of ideology, romance, and murder, which unfolds against the events of the last great crisis of the Cold War."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved