Robert Harland ended his career as a British spy in an Austrian hospital, after being tortured and beaten by Czech security agents in the last days of the communist regime. He was young enough then to find a new life with the Red Cross and then with the UN.

Twelve years later his UN plane crashes in mysterious circumstances at La Guardia airport, New York, and Harland is the only survivor. Was it sabotage and, if so, was Harland the target?

It is soon clear to Harland that the answers are to be found in his past, a past which, along with its secrets and tradecraft, he has desperately tried to forget. And now the crash has thrown him back into a world of relentless intrigue and mistrust, to his youth, and a life-changing love affair.

Praise for Henry Porter and A Spy’s Life:

“Here is a spy writer whose work is becoming increasingly unbeatable.”—Independent (UK)

“Like the best espionage writers, Porter is an expert at spinning plates. We are flashed all over the world.”—Daily Telegraph (UK)

“Porter is certainly filling the gap left by Len Deighton and John le Carré.”—Evening Standard (UK)

“Compulsively readable.”—Observer

“This entertaining second novel by Porter never flags.”—Library Journal, on Remembrance Day

“Expertly paced… a white knuckle ride.”—Spectator (UK)

“An espionage master.”—Charles Cumming

“Henry Porter is one of our most accomplished thriller writers. As a Fleet Street veteran with an eye for news, he mixes current affairs with precisely engineered storytelling and complex, rounded characters.”—Financial Times

“British espionage fiction is the best in the world, and Porter is part of the reason why.” —Lee Child 

“Henry Porter has fast become one of the masters of the genre.”—Sunday Telegraph (UK)