There are no fast cars in my books and no glitzy gadgets, but there is betrayal, marital infidelity, conspiracy and ruthlessness. I tell the truth about espionage and foreign policy – and relationships too. My characters operate in the murky cellars of Realpolitik. Allies are sometimes sacrificed, while enemies are embraced. The moments of joy and intimacy are rare, but all the more genuine for that. My books are largely about outsiders in a dangerous world. As one critic wrote of Catesby, the main character in my last two novels: ‘Like all outsiders, he is forced constantly to observe and notice, purely to survive.’ ”