Independence Square

The story is set predominantly in Ukraine and negotiates a dual timeline between late 2004 and 2017. Its backdrop being the emergence of the ‘Orange Revolution’, vis-à-vis the dioxin poisoned future President Viktor Yushchenko - an election tarnished by electoral fraud and its subsequent re-run.

The central character Simon Davey is a senior British diplomat caught up in the 2004 events and subsequently brought down by his actions. Moving to 2017, he has a chance sighting of Olesya the young woman he always suspected was responsible for his downfall.

The author skillfully inserts his 2004 fictional back-story upon the framework of real events as they unfolded in the Ukraine at that time. We are provided an insight into that time, that region where the politics were murky, often difficult to fully comprehend from our vantage point in the West.

This is not a tale of high-tech spies, gun-toting super-sleuths, glamorous ‘honey traps’ and electronic espionage. What we have are fully-fleshed characters operating in a world of ‘realpolitik’, with its inherent corruption and betrayal. Miller’s narrative probes deep into the political struggle (which appears) fuelled by optimism and naiveté, but is ultimately contorted by those who eventually achieved power.

The author provides a somewhat idealistic and chastened central character in Davey. He knows he prevented a tragedy, but in-so-doing, he wrecked his own career. He has suspicions, but is unable to penetrate the smoke and mirrors of ‘behind-the-curtain’ political machinations to see who was ultimately responsible for his woes. As the layers are peeled back, the people that played Davey and Olesya, and more crucially, their motivations are exposed.

Involving, intelligent and insightful.