Exposure

It isn’t what you know or don’t know: it’s what you allow yourself to know. I understand this now. Forbidden love, intimate betrayal and the devastating power of exposure drive Helen Dunmore's remarkable new novel. London, November, 1960: the Cold War is at its height. Spy fever fills the newspapers, and the political establishment knows how and where to bury its secrets. When a highly sensitive file goes missing, Simon Callington is accused of passing information to the Soviets, and arrested. His wife, Lily, suspects that his imprisonment is part of a cover-up, and that more powerful men than Simon will do anything to prevent their own downfall. She knows that she too is in danger, and must fight to protect her children. But what she does not realise is that Simon has hidden vital truths about his past, and may be found guilty of another crime that carries with it an even greater penalty. ‘Gripping, subtle and emotional.’ - Sadie Jones, author of The Outcast ‘Under its smooth, naturalistic surfaces, Exposure has a tightly wrought plot as gripping as any thriller.’ - The Guardian ‘Few modern novelists can rival Dunmore for showing how the horrors of history smash into individual lives.’ - The Times ‘Quietly, deceptively, Exposure is magnificent’ - Independent