Mysterious, coded messages have come from the remotest, most dreaded former gulag in northern Siberia. They plead for a certain man to be sent to carry out the most astounding Russian secret of all. The man is Johnny Porter – fierce rebel, Rhodes scholar, loner outdoorsman, cynic, genius – the most memorable fiction hero of this decade. The account of how he gets in, finds the man – and woman – who sent for him, and tries to get their secret out is a masterpiece of wrenching excitement, shredding suspense, and immensely intelligent storytelling, with twists that continue until the very last page.