To Russia, With Hate — Shaun Stafford

Alex Savage is an asset. He's been an asset all of his life, usually carrying out jobs for the British government. Jobs that they ultimately want to deny responsibility for. A former SAS corporal, and one-time operator for the Firm, Alex is now burnt out, jaded, with a whole truckload of baggage, and he doesn't care what he does or who kills for money. For the last few years, Alex has branched out into the private sector, where the pay is more lucrative, and the risks are supposedly less.

After a lucrative, if challenging, operation on the European mainland, Alex returns home where he makes a shocking discovery, one which changes his entire outlook on life. Assets for the intelligence services can earn a lot of money, but once they dabble in the murky world of organized crime the rulebook is even less forgiving.

In that world, the enemies have long memories and brutal forms of vengeance.Alex is not entirely blameless, and he must come to terms with the truth that the sins of a father will be revisited upon their sons. An endless cycle, perhaps, but one where he must travel to Russia, with hatred in his mind, to exact his own vengeance.