Driven from his London home by events beyond his control, Thomas Lieven -- seducer, swindler, pacifist and gastronomist -- reluctantly finds himself forced to work as a secret agent for no less than four countries on various fronts of wartime Europe: England, France, Germany and the United States, before, during and after the Second World War. He's clever, this Thomas Lievin, and manages for the most part to outwit these agencies, all of whom need him to do their bidding, and some of whom want him dead. Clever as he is however, his Achilles heel is women whom he seduces with his talents in the kitchen. Whisking together one gourmet meal after the next, the book includes the recipes that Lieven prepares for friend and, sometimes, foe, during his manifold adventures, and which are a treat entirely in their own right. A classic work of German fiction, long unavailable now back in print in a 2-book paperback limited edition celebrating over 50 years of espionage and fine dining.