In Stir, number 7 in the CONTANGO thriller series, finance,espionage and murder combine together again in their Dance of Death.

A nonchalant EMMA, leading figure in CONTANGO, wanders away from an idyllic life in Italy with JOE - careless Emma! In London, on holiday, she meets former top City financier BLAKE, just released from jail after ex-colleague Commander framed him for fraud; Blake is bent on revenge and murder. Via Blake, Emma gets to know the bemused inmates of Gaston’s house in Chelsea; rooming temporarily with their ambivalent landlord, they are trying to sort out their shattered lives. Former journalist TOM STONE is resident chez Gaston as he nurses URSULA through a breakdown. Also present with Blake chez Gaston are Julia, bitter, failed Company Wife, traded in for the younger model; and unhappy Cressida, down from Cambridge with a bad degree.

Conflicting destinies collide among Gaston’s shocked refugees, reprising one of CONTANGO’s main themes - where is home?

But reality in STIR is complex and changeable.  Emma is trapped deep in espionage’s wilderness of mirrors.  She has been manoeuvred into romancing Blake by spy chief ANNIE, so that British Intelligence can get closer to Commander.  The treacherous Commander is a key link with forces deeply hostile to the USA. In a global duel of bluff, deception and cruel calculation, Annie must read Commander exactly right to avert catastrophe.  She needs all the intelligence she can gather, human anguish notwithstanding.

The action boils to a climax as New York and the dollar are attacked. Blake stalks Commander throughout the Square Mile, only to encounter a remarkable twist in the tale. Likewise Emma...