Aleksi is a spy – and a very good one – but not by choice. He is a Russian orphan who learned to survive by stealing for food and money and by being very, very observant. When he is caught by the Russian secret police in 1936 at age 16 he is given two options – be trained as a spy and go to Germany in the guise of his once boyhood friend who is the long lost nephew of a high ranking German, or go to prison. Aleksi is a survivor – he becomes a spy first for Russia and then for Germany not because of any sense of patriotism or family loyalty but because he wants to live a good life and survive. Based on historical facts, this is one of the best spy novels I’ve read and really highlights how the course of history could have been changed by one single spy.