The main character tells us: ‘When my wife joined the government, she started to talk like a politician. And these people she started hanging around with … they saw me as a nobody, a freeloader. Spying was my revenge. But most of all it was exciting. Everybody thinks you’re an insignificant author hanging onto your wife’s coat tails and begging for pocket money. When actually you’re a spy! But then you could say things took off, and I lost control.’