Betrayal

The novel begins with a discussion about the Dolphin case and what might have gone wrong with it. However, the story begins long before the Dolphin case with the revelation that one of the British Secret Service's most loyal men was never truly loyal. Bill Haydon was found to be a traitor, secretly working for the Russians. Due to the fact that Haydon and the new head of the service were good friends, the head, George Smiley, is determined to fix some of the destruction Haydon leveled on Smiley's beloved Circus. Smiley begins investigating cases that Haydon may have falsely ended. Smiley finds an investigation into a gold seam, or money laundering, in Vientiane. Smiley and his team investigate this case only to find that it is a scheme by the Russians to free Nelson Ko, a highly-respected Chinese government official, and buy some of his knowledge about...