A "what if" tale set in the Spy vs. Spook/Mann of My Dreams universe!
Kyle Winchester is a genius when it comes to foreign languages. He has no trouble learning them and often picks up dialects simply for fun. This makes him an ideal candidate for certain agencies in the intelligence community, most notably the CIA and the WBIS. While these two agencies fight it out between them, all an unknowing Kyle wants to do is discover more about the mysterious Frenchman he met while in New York -- and possibly fall in love with him.
Alain Boucher, a championship-level card player, discovers playing cards with the wrong man could get him imprisoned and deported. As a result, he's pressured into doing the occasional job for the CIA. One of these jobs is to convince -- by any means -- a certain young man that becoming a member of the CIA is exactly what his future should hold. The problem is Alain has come to like Kyle, and he isn't so certain what the CIA wants is what's best for the young man. However, events beyond his control see Kyle agreeing to work for the Company.
The reality of his new job isn't as rosy as Kyle was promised, but when a covert operative is outed, leaving her assets to fend for themselves, Kyle has to make a decision: stay with an organization that seems to have no regard for its people, or resign. Things become even more complicated when he's offered a position at the WBIS by the enigmatic Mark Vincent. Kyle has to wonder ... should he accept this job? And if he does, how will that affect his relationship with Alain, the man who'd set out to woo him for ulterior motives but then wound up falling in love with him?
