Washington is a city of secrets. Some are meant to stay buried.

Alex Matthews is back as the former CIA officer scarred by betrayal in Moscow. Now he navigates the brutal theatre of White House politics while telling himself he is finished with espionage.

But then he is drawn back into the shadows when a chance encounter with a mysterious woman unravels - what begins as a transactional relationship becomes a web of suspicion and hidden motives. When a young woman falls to her death during a political fundraiser the lines between coincidence and conspiracy disappear. Matthews finds himself caught between ruthless political operators and a resurgent Russian threat. As election tensions rise alliances shift and the truth becomes dangerous. Matthews must decide where his loyalties lies and what he stands for before the political world crushes him completely.



Paul Vidich was a senior executive in the entertainment industry for over twenty years. After leaving his business career he turned to writing full time. His first novel, An Honorable Man, a Publisher's Weekly top 10 Mystery and Thriller in 2016, was followed by The Good Assassin. The Poet's Game was his latest novel, acclaimed by Spybrary as the best spy novel of 2025. His essays and nonfiction have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Lithub, The Nation, CrimeReads, and elsewhere.