"The naked man who lay splayed out on his face beside the swimming pool might have been dead." Part One, The Plan, Chapter 1, Roseland, pg. 1

"SMERSH is the official murder organization of the Soviet government. It operates both at home and abroad and, in 1955, it employed a total of 40,000 men and women. SMERSH is a contraction of 'Smiert spionam', which means 'Death to Spies'. It is a name used only among its staff and among Soviet officials. No sane member of the public would dream of allowing the word to pass his lips."

Part One, The Plan, Chapter 4, The Moguls of Death, pg. 29

"Kronsteen sat motionless and erect, as malevolently inscrutable as a parrot. His elbows were on the table and his big head rested on clenched fists that pressed into his cheeks, squashing the pursed lips into a pout of hauteur and distain."

Part One, The Plan...