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Post 2001: A half-starved young Russian man in a long black overcoat is smuggled into Hamburg at dead of night.
Post 2001: A half-starved young Russian man in a long black overcoat is smuggled into Hamburg at dead of night.
A half-starved young Russian man in a long black overcoat is smuggled into Hamburg at dead of night. He has an large amount of cash secreted in a purse round his neck and claims to be a devout Muslim. Or is he? He says his name is Issa.
Annabel, an idealistic young German civil rights lawyer, determines to save Issa from deportation. Soon her client’s survival becomes more important to her than her own career. In pursuit of Issa’s mysterious past, she confronts the incongruous Tommy Brue, the sixty-year-old scion of Brue Frères, a failing British bank based in Hamburg.
Le Carre shines the spotlight on to a post-Cold War Germany and the modern day issues such as the worries and challenges of intelligence agencies in Germany and beyond. The main characters here immerse the reader into a world of immigration, religion and the events take place followin the tragedy of 9/11. The Cold War has been replaced by the war on terror.
This is where there is a special kind of account named after the famous Lippizaner horses as the money starts out black before going white with age – Edward Brue created these laundering accounts so that corrupt Soviet officials could move money from behind the Iron Curtain as Communism collapsed around it. It’s this money and the legacy behind it that causes trouble.
Author/Guide John le Carré Destination: Hamburg Departure Time: Post 2001
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