Spy turned art restorer Gabriel Allon is desperately trying to resume a quieter life in secluded Umbria with his new wife, Chiara, when shocking news reaches him. The Russian defector who recently saved his life in Moscow Rules has vanished without a trace. British intelligence suspect the defector was always a double agent, but Allon is convinced otherwise. To discover the truth and clear his name, he must go immediately to London - a decision that will prove to be the most fateful of his career. There, Allon uncovers a deadly conspiracy, a plot laid by his old enemy Ivan Kharkov - Russian millionaire and arms dealer - to resurrect a network of death and bring the world to the precipice of a new confrontation, but above all to seek his revenge against Allon. In order to stop him, Allon must risk everything - his honour, his loyalty to an organization he has served since his youth, his new marriage . . . even his life. The Defector is a searing tale of love, vengeance and betrayal.