Spy Line - Plot Summary

Plot Summary

The novel starts with Bernard Samson in hiding in Berlin after the events in the first book of the series. He is soon found by the SIS and is invited by Frank Harrington to sit in on a debriefing of an undercover agent, where it is revealed that Eric Stinnes has been smuggling drugs into East Germany.

Bernard is eventually recalled to London, and sent on a mission to Vienna to pick up a package from a stamp auction. This is revealed to be a Russian passport, which he uses to meet his wife Fiona, whom it is now revealed is a double agent (It is not made clear for how long Bernard knew this).

Finally, Fiona attempts to escape from East Germany, whereupon Eric Stinnes, and Fiona's sister Tessa are both killed. Bernard and Fiona escape back to the other side of the wall and are transported to America for debriefing.

Works by Len Deighton
"Unnamed hero" novels
  • The IPCRESS File (1962)
  • Horse Under Water (1963)
  • Funeral in Berlin (1964)
  • Billion-Dollar Brain (1966)
  • An Expensive Place to Die (1967)
  • Spy Story (1972)
  • Yesterday's Spy (1975)
  • Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy (1976)
Bernard Samson novels
  • Berlin Game (1983)
  • Mexico Set (1984)
  • London Match (1985)
  • Winter (1987)
  • Spy Hook (1988)
  • Spy Line (1989)
  • Spy Sinker (1990)
  • Faith (1994)
  • Hope (1995)
  • Charity (1996)
Other novels
  • Only When I Larf (1968)
  • Bomber (1970)
  • Close-Up (1972)
  • SS-GB (1978)
  • XPD (1981)
  • Goodbye, Mickey Mouse (1982)
  • MAMista (1991)
  • City of Gold (1992)
  • Violent Ward, (1993)
Short story collection
  • Declarations of War (1971)
Non-fiction
  • Où Est le Garlic (1965)
  • Len Deighton's Action Cookbook (1965)
  • Len Deighton's London Dossier (1967)
  • Fighter: The True Story of the Battle of Britain (1977)
  • Airshipwreck (1978)
  • Blitzkrieg: From the Rise of Hitler to the Fall of Dunkirk (1979)
  • Battle of Britain (1980)
  • Blood, Tears and Folly: An Objective Look at World War II (1993)
  • James Bond: My Long and Eventful Search for His Father (2012)


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