The meeting had the potential to either yield a gold mine of intelligence or end in utter failure. There was a third possibility in the clandestine rendezvous that couldn’t be ignored by either Vladimir Kuzichkin or Ian McCredie: being discovered by Iranian intelligence services, which could lead to deadly consequences for both men. 

KGB major Kuzichkin and MI6 officer McCredie were enemies in the simmering Cold War. Both were stationed in Iran where they were continuing a spy game that had taken on a new life after the Iranian Revolution. As of 1981, the Ayatollah Khomeini was the leader of Iran, yet the country remained fraught with instability. Factional warfare was waged on the streets, and its westernization took a giant step back. The Soviets and the Western powers sought to make inroads with the group most likely to wield power.

"Macintyre’s sublime skill as a writer is in portraying history in a way that allows for the heaviest moments to speak for themselves. REDWOOD is outstanding from start to finish as he continues to thrill with each new release."

Kuzichkin had his fill of the cloak-and-dagger life after living in Tehran for a little more than five years. He grew disenchanted with the drunkenness and corruption of his KGB comrades. The stress in running a pair of agents (codenamed Konrad and Evi) for Directorate S had led to his increasing reliance on alcohol, along with a malaise that took a toll on his marriage. Kuzichkin agreed to feed information to McCredie if McCredie’s people could help with an unorthodox request: providing a cure for his lethargic libido. The first nugget of info Kuzichkin offered was a doozy. The Soviets were plotting to replace the Iranian government with a Soviet-friendly regime. If successful, it could drastically shift the momentum in the Cold War. 

Kuzichkin was born into the spy world as his stepfather had served in the KGB. His intellect led to his recruitment by the KGB, which sought out intelligent but loyal men of derring-do. While being trained, his education focused on the United States as the main enemy. McCredie was recruited by MI6 while attending Cambridge. His training taught him how to recruit and run agents. Both men had passed background checks and various testing from their respective intelligence agencies. McCredie was prepared for a recruitment of a high-level defector, but Kuzichkin was as atypical as his motive. 

McCredie established the rules for communication between Kuzichkin and himself as the need for discretion was paramount. Phone calls with coded language led to covert intelligence drops between the two spies. Kuzichkin’s value to MI6 and the West grew each month. He began to show the strain from his duplicity, and by 1982 he was clamoring for an exfiltration from Iran. If McCredie could successfully move him out of an increasingly dangerous Iran, he would have pulled off two intelligence coups in a year’s time.

REDWOOD is even more compelling than Ben Macintyre’s previous books about spies. The opening sequence is riveting and revealing in how it showcases the two primary characters, who soon will be locked in a partnership that promises to be both rewarding and frustrating over the ensuing weeks and months. As crucial as Kuzichkin and McCredie are to the narrative, Iran and its historical evolution become an important focus of the story, especially as the two men try to acclimate themselves to a country in the midst of a turbulent transition. The last full decade of the Cold War has begun. The potential for mutually assured destruction has revived itself, and Iran remains a key piece in the great game between reigning superpowers.

Macintyre’s sublime skill as a writer is in portraying history in a way that allows for the heaviest moments to speak for themselves. REDWOOD is outstanding from start to finish as he continues to thrill with each new release.