There was a time when CIA operative Nathan Muir and his protege Tom Bishop were inseparable, travelling the world and tasting everything it had to offer... from Vietnam to Berlin to Beirut. In a profession fraught with danger and uncertainty, Muir and Bishop forged an uncommonly close friendship based on mutual respect and affection. But that was years ago. Now, on the brink of his retirement from the agency, Muir learns that Bishop has gone rogue. His one-time protege has been jailed in Beijing on espionage charges after attempting to break a prisoner out of China. Years of bad blood and hurt feelings are washed away in a flood of memories of adventures shared by the two men as Muir takes on his most dangerous - and personal - mission ever.