Publisher's Synopsis
Oliver learned about magic at a school run by the secretive Guild of Magicians. Now he just wants to enjoy a playboy lifestyle, but the Guild keeps finding tasks for him. The Russians are trying to increase their power in the Middle East. Oliver has friends there and is shocked - why don't the Americans act? But the Senate has told the President not to meddle.
Oliver's father, a member of the Guild, tells everyone who will listen that the British should intervene. Oliver is concerned - people listen to his father. Surely any clumsy adventuring would make matters worse? But, in the War Office, an old soldier is hatching a conspiracy of his own. He needs a brave and resourceful man. Someone who is expendable. Who is the best candidate for the task?
The Russian mafia have been accused of stealing missiles from arsenals and selling them for scrap. The government refuses to comment.
The Russians have been accused of sending assassins to Britain. They deny it, obviously. They say all those unfortunate accidents are a coincidence.
But, in Britain, the Guild of Magicians has other concerns. They want to send Oliver to investigate rumours of magic users in Vienna.
But Vienna is not just a city of coffee shops, hunting clubs and old imperial palaces. It is a centre for espionage. When Oliver arrives in the city, he finds that all of these strands overlap.
