The Defection of A. J. Lewinter is a masterpiece of irony and intrigue, an unconventional and gripping anatomy of a defection. A.J. Lewinter is an American scientist, for years an insignificant cog in America's complex defense machinery. While at an academic conference in Tokyo, he contacts the KGB station chief and tells him he wants to defect. He tantalizes the Russians with U.S. military secrets he claims to possess, but is his defection genuine? Neither the Russians nor the Americans are sure and Lewinter is swept up in a terrifying political chess match of deceit and treachery. Each side struggles to anticipate its opponents next move and the superpowers are locked in a deadly contest that exploits friendships, destroys loyalties, and manipulates human beings as expendable pawns. Deft and dazzlingly plotted, this is the book that introduced Robert Littell-the opening shot of a brilliant career.