I was leaving for the library one morning, the manuscript of my aunt Jane Moneypenny's 1964 diaries almost ready for the publisher, when a letter arrived. It was typed on official Cambridge University Department of History writing paper, and was short and brutal...

Jane Moneypenny may project an image of chic, sophisticated poise but her secret diary reveals her other side. in the grip of an uncertain love affair and haunted by a dark family secret, the last thing she needs is a crisis at work. But the Secret Intelligence Service is in chaos and her beloved James in danger. Only a woman's touch can save them.

Moneypenny soon finds herself embroiled in a highly charged adventure infused with the glamour of the Cold War espionage game. Alone on a dangerous Russian mission she turns, with breathless intimacy, to writing an engrossing private diary.