Hazard a Guess

In America, Peter Brooks, a former intelligence operative, peruses a sprawling collection of Real Tennis memorabilia to which, oddly, someone has attached personal, very personal, correspondence as well as secret British government documents. But things have gone missing. In asking why, Peter reverts to training. Tradecraft 101: there are no coincidences. When Katherine Connolly, the London-based auctioneer seeks answers for the American, she hits a brick wall with her bosses. Past experience has taught her to loathe dishonesty and makes her even more determined to find answers. MI6, CIA, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, however, would rather these documents remain unseen.

As Katherine takes up Real Tennis to guide her search, she discovers that the intelligence services have always enjoyed rich recruiting in the major auction houses as well as in the ancient game of Tennis. A trans-Atlantic operation is underway to ferret out clues and answers; with extraordinary and unexpected results.