What if England had signed a peace agreement with Germany after Dunkirk? In 1952, during a Great Smog, the resistance to the authoritarian dictatorship, led by Churchill, is growing. This spy thriller (and love story) has nothing to do with the previous Shardlake series. Despite its well worked out thesis, it seems to bog down for lack of activity in spots, overladen with conversation. Nevertheless a gripping and realistic read.