The Department has faded since the war, effectively mothballed, without agents or resources. But now, with intelligence of a possible missile threat, it again has a mission. This is a chance to prove its influence to those at the Circus, like George Smiley, who think the Department's time has passed. The opportunity to reclaim former glory cannot be missed - even though it means putting men's lives at desperate risk on foreign soil. The Looking Glass War is a gripping story of the amorality of espionage - unflinching in its depiction of the men involved, who are as much full of vanity and fear as of selflessness and courage.