A Very Private Plot — William F. Buckley Jr.

Dangerous Cold War secrets come to light in the age of glasnost in this “smooth and skillful” spy thriller from the New York Times�"bestselling author (Publishers Weekly).

In the bleakest hours of the Cold War, the CIA did terrible things. The agency arranged coups, assassinations, and wars, but no matter how dark their methods, they did it for America. Senator Hugh Blanton does not understand this. A bleeding-heart liberal with an impeccable academic pedigree, he came to Washington with one goal in mind: neutering the CIA. His prime target is Blackford Oakes -- the agency's most elegant cold warrior -- whose shadowy past Blanton wants to expose to the world. But Oakes will not testify, lest he be forced to divulge the secrets of Operation Cyclops.
 
In the last days of the Cold War, as the USSR moved toward glasnost, the CIA became aware of a Russian plot to assassinate Premier Gorbachev. The only person Oakes told was President Reagan, with whom he was forced to decide if the leader of the evil empire would live or die.
 
A Very Private Plot is the 10th book in the Blackford Oakes Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.