The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Matthews, Jason. Palace of Treason. Scribner, 2015.

In Palace of Treason, the second novel in the Red Sparrow series by Jason Matthews, double agent Dominika Egorova’s life hangs in the balance when her nemesis and boss at the SVR, Zyuganov, learns that she is the mole in the SVR. Though Dominika did not relish killing her boss, she had to do so in order to keep from being executed as a traitor or giving up her job as a spy. Since Dominika believes she has not yet avenged the wrongs she believes have been done to her by the Russian establishment, she intended to continue wreaking havoc in the leadership of Russia. She wanted to avenge the death of Korchnoi, a Russian spy who was her mentor, as well as the deaths of three women friends killed as a result of the injustices in the Russian system.

As this second novel in the Red Sparrow series opens Dominika’s boss, Zyuganov, is already jealous of her because she turned in Korchnoi, a case on which he had been working. Zyuganov is deeply paranoid and believes that Dominika is trying to take his job even though Dominika has her own goals as a double agent working in Russia for the American CIA. Zyuganov is so paranoid that he makes an attempt on Dominika’s life when she successfully recruits an Iranian nuclear scientist to share with her the details of Iran’s plan to build a nuclear weapon. The information turns out to be financially profitable for the Russians and earns Dominika praise and respect from Putin, the president of Russia.

Hoping to stay in Putin’s good graces Zyuganov stops giving Dominika details of the operations of the counterintelligence department. He intends for Dominika to not be able to impress Putin if she has no idea what is happening but Dominika manages to get information from Zyuganov’s deputy by sleeping with him. Zyuganov additionally distances Dominika from the SVR by sending her to Athens to search for a mole he indicates is operating from that city. Zyuganov had believed the mole from Athens had actually returned to Moscow. He hoped he could catch the mole while Dominika was in Athens. Instead, she identified Solovyov as the mole, a move that her CIA handlers believed would give her higher standing with Putin. The CIA believed Solovyov had agreed to defect to America. The leaders from Moscow tricked Solovyov into returning to that city to be arrested by telling him he was being reinstated to his old job.

Because Dominika did not want to be responsible for Solovyov’s death, she arranged to kidnap him from his apartment where he was being held on house arrest. She took him to a beach, the site where the Navy was supposed to pick her up in case she had an emergency and had to get out of the country. Dominika basically used her own safety plan to ensure that Solovyov lived.

Meanwhile, an American mole, who called himself TRITON, had been selling secrets to the Russian government. He had been tasked to discover the name of a Russian spy working with the CIA. TRITON reached out to Zyuganov to get the name of the mole. He believed that Dominika was the mole but needed proof to save his position in the SVR. Nate and Dominika discovered TRITON and Zyuganov meeting together and killed both of the men ensuring no one in Moscow would find out that Dominika was the mole. Dominika was hurt badly in her fight with Zyuganov and Nate was unable to visit her or find out her condition in order to keep her safe. The author leaves the reader with the description of a woman who has taken over duties as the SVR’s chief of counterintelligence. It is assumed this woman is Dominika.