A prequel to "Casino Royale" follows the mysterious demise of Agent 007 in the French Riviera underworld and the emergence of new agent, James Bond.

Traveling behind the Iron Curtain, James Bond must convince the Russians, including a beautiful Soviet psychiatric analyst, that he is a double agent to infiltrate a group planning a major act of terrorism, which, if successful, will destabilize relations between the East and West.

"Though war rages across mainland Europe and London is strafed by German aircraft, the little village of Pipley in Hertfordshire bustles along much as it always has. Adrift since her best friend, George, joined the Royal Air Force, twenty-two-year-old Olive Bright fills her days by helping at her father's veterinary practice and tending to her beloved racing pigeons. Desperate to do her bit, Olive hopes that the National Pigeon Service will enlist...

"As the weather turns bitterly cold in the dark days of November 1941, fewer pigeons are being conscripted for missions into occupied Europe and Olive fears her covert program may be dropped altogether. In fact, the new CO of the Baker Street intelligence operation at Brickendonbury Manor, Major Blighty, has expressed his doubts regarding her birds -- not to mention Olive herself -- and assigned her to a far more insignificant role: escort to a visiting...