Spy in Chancery — Kenneth Benton

'Counter-intelligence is like two men in the dark. You know the other feller is there and you've got to get him, and you move around with your arms outstretched and try one place after another and find sweet nothing. You're just saying “Where the heck is that bastard? Does he exist?” when your fingers touch. And then suddenly everything is real...'

Peter Craig's first lessons in espionage begin in Rome, where he is seconded by S.3 - the Special Security Service - with orders to investigate leaks from the British embassy to the KGB, one of which has already resulted in the assassination of an MI6 agent.
Using his cover as a security advisor, Craig investigates the intrigues and clashing motivations at play in the embassy to find the traitor, with the help of an Ambassador whose disdain for the 'dreadfully sordid business' of espionage takes a back seat when he sees a chance to settle old scores with a little 'disinformatsiya'.

Before a week has passed, the cast of players grows to include the CIA, private detectives and the Mafia, and with a daring ploy to flush out the spy, Craig makes himself and his friends into targets for the Kremlin's illegal resident.