A masterpiece of irony and intrigue, deftly and dazzlingly plotted, The Defection of A.J. Lewinter is the novel that established Robert Littell as a master of the Cold War thriller and immediately elevated him to the ranks of John le Carré, Len Deighton, and Graham Greene. A.J. Lewinter is an American scientist, for years an insignificant cog in America's complex defense machinery. Now he is playing both sides against the middle-telling the Russians he wants to defect and tantalizing them with U.S. military secrets he claims to posses. But is his defection genuine? Neither the Russians nor the Americans are sure, and as each side struggles to anticipate its opponent's next move, Lewinter is swept up in a terrifying chess match of deceit and treachery. Author Biography: Robert Littell is the author of numerous spy novels, including the New York Times bestseller The Company, The Amateur (which was made into a feature film), and The Once and Future Spy.