Nine years ago, Henry Pelham and Celia Harrison were stationed in Vienna, Austria, with other CIA colleagues when an attempt to rescue hostages of a hijacked airliner failed miserably. Everyone on the plane was killed, including the CIA operative on board who was trying to save them. Was the plan compromised from the inside? If so, by whom? That is the question now being probed by the Austrians, as well as the CIA.

Henry and Celia were lovers at the time of the disaster, but Celia made a complete escape from the agency shortly afterward. Married with two young children, Celia built a wall around herself with an entirely different life in California. Will that wall protect her from the investigation -- or will it entrap her? Henry is still part of the agency and the one most intent on finding answers to what happened nine years ago.

Meeting in a small restaurant not far from her home in California, Celia and Henry recall the events that transpired that fateful day. Told from differing points of view, it is clear they both feel someone betrayed the rescue operation. As Henry delves deeper into Celia's recollections, while revealing his own, she becomes even more convinced of the traitor's identity. Will Henry agree -- or will this meeting turn into something else entirely?

ALL THE OLD KNIVES by Olen Steinhauer is an intriguing tale of political espionage with numerous, unexpected twists and turns. Vivid portrayal of the paranoia associated with government spies leads to a surprising conclusion. Steinhauer wields a deft pen in this exciting political thriller.