One Man's Flag

'In the elite company of literary spy masters Alan Furst and Philip Kerr'
Washington Post

'Remarkable ... Downing is one of the brightest lights in the shadowy world of historical spy fiction'
Birmingham Post

'A superb sequence of spy novels comes to an end . . . Like its predecessors, Masaryk Station offers tight, intelligent plots full of moral ambiguities and a cast of shadowy characters for whom deception is as natural as breathing. The clammy atmosphere of espionage is wonderfully conveyed.'
Marcel Berlins in THE TIMES

'The author not only creates intrigue but, over the course of six engrossing novels chronicles the shifting conscience of his main character. His descriptions ring true, not only in moments of crisis and action but of the quotidian days between: prewar negotiations, threats and reprieves, false alarms, dashed hopes, everyday pleasures, encroaching dread . . . Almost epic in scope, Downing's Station cycle creates a fictional universe rich with a historian's expertise but rendered with literary style and heart.'
WALL STREET JOURNAL on the Station series

'Downing's outstanding evocation of the times (as masterly as that found in Alan Furst's novels or Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series), thematic complexity (as rich as that of John le Carré), and the wide assortment of fully rendered characters provide as much or more pleasure than the plot, where disparate threads are tied together in satisfying and unexpected ways.'
Library Journal on Masaryk Station

'Excellent ... Downing's strength is his fleshing out of the tense and often dangerous nature of everyday life in a totalitarian state
The Times

'An extraordinary evocation of Nazi Germany'
C.J. SANSOM on Zoo Station

'Stands with Alan Furst for detail and atmosphere'
DONALD JAMES

'Outstanding'
Publishers Weekly on Lehrter Station

'Think Robert Harris and Fatherland mixed with a dash of Le Carré
Sue Baker, Publishing News

'A wonderfully drawn spy novel . . . A very auspicious debut, with more to come'
The Bookseller on Zoo Station

'Exciting and frightening all at once . . . It's got everything going for it'
Julie Walters

'An outstanding thriller . . . This series is a quite remarkable achievement'
Shots magazine --...

Spring 1915: World War One rages across Europe, and the British Empire is assailed on all fronts domestic and abroad. Amidst this bloodbath of nations, where one man s flag is another man s shroud, a British spy is asked to do the impossible: seduce and betray the woman he loves, again. Only this time betrayal is a two-way street.
Jack McColl, a spy for His Majesty s Secret Service, is stationed in India, charged with defending the Empire against Bengali terrorists and their German allies. Belgium, he finds, is not the only country seeking to expel an invader.
In England, meanwhile, suffragette journalist Caitlin Hanley begins the business of rebuilding her life after the execution of her brother an IRA sympathizer whose terrorist plot was foiled by Caitlin s own ex-lover, the very same Jack McColl. The war is changing everything and giving fresh impulse to those causes feminism, socialism and Irish independence which she as a journalist has long supported.
The threat of a Rising in Dublin alarms McColl s bosses as much as it dazzles Caitlin. If another Irish plot brings them back together, will it be as enemies or lovers?"