Exposure, Dunmore - B

                                             This is a fascinating novel set in 1960 in London. If I had to pick a word to describe it, it would be 'anxious'. Giles is an aging functionary at the Admiralty office who spies for the Soviets. One night, he falls down the stairs at home after taking photos of a top secret file. He's drunk, badly hurt, and terribly anxious about that file, now in his study and not at work. He calls Simon, a lackluster underling who dutifully goes and picks up the file and gets very worried. Simon doesn't know what to do. His wife finds the file, buries it in the backyard, and now spends all of her time fretting about her future and that of her three children, as Simon has been dragged off to gaol. Giles' boss is desperate to find the file. It is clear that Simon has been framed, but there's no way for him to prove it. Things work out in the end in an unlikely and barely believable sequence of events. At least though, they work out the way they should.