The Spy

Neutral Ground…Demilitarized Zone…No Man’s Land. The words, the phrases, the euphemisms are the same today as they were 250 years ago. In The Spy, the first espionage novel, we find ourselves in a territory that is ruled neither by the British army nor its Colonial rebels. Washington’s army is in a fight to the death with the King’s redcoats to determine who will control the wilderness north of the New York City. In the parlance of the day, it is called “neutral ground”–a lawless, free-fire zone, its allegiances constantly shifting among loyalists, revolutionaries, marauders and violent men and women whose murderous talents are offered up to the highest bidder. Like such 20th century settings as “Check Point Charlie” in Berlin, the neutral ground of The Spy is a territory rife with plots and double- crosses; families torn apart and communities divided along political lines. The bloody scramble of history is written on the landscape and its people, resonating down the ages. In this subtle and ambiguous wilderness, spies and counterspies play out their roles to achieve political goals and personal honor. No one in The Spy–man or woman–is who he or she appears to be. Lies are sometimes told by the best of them. And the truth–even a truth that could save a life or reputation–may never be known. Romance, adventure, disguises and the ticking clock of a coming battle all conspire to make The Spy a very modern and vivid entertainment.