Georg Polger, a struggling translator, finds his fortunes miraculously transformed. Commissioned to translate military plans, he also finds love with Françoise, the secretary of his taskmaster, Mr Bulnakov. In his sleepy village in the South of France, life couldn’t be better…
… except the mysterious death of the previous translator has left nagging doubts in his mind. Doubts which are only confirmed when he catches Françoise copying his plans. After Georg confronts Bulnakov, mysterious people begin tailing him, and Françoise disappears from their home.
Desperate to find out who Françoise really was, but with only a painting to show she ever existed, Georg sets out to track her down. But can he survive the machinations of Mr Bulnakov, or the realisation he may have been a pawn in a far larger game?
Moving from Cold War Europe to a KGB-infiltrated New York, The Gordian Knot combines Schlink’s thought-provoking take on history with a plot that confirms his reputation as a thriller writer of the highest rate.