USA, New York, ca 1968
USA og Sovjetunionen underskriver en handelsaftale om russisk køb om 100 millioner tons korn. Sovjetunionen opretter konsulater i San Francisco og New York og tilsvarende opretter USA konsulater i Leningrad og Odessa.

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Beautifully written and I always wondered if this fraud would work in today's markets. ( )

Set against the background of the Détente era, with grain sales by the U.S. to the Soviets, John Putnam Thatcher of Sloan Guaranty Trust investigates when the banks pays out almost a million dollars on bills of lading for wheat delivered to a Soviet ship --and the bills turn out to be a skillful forgery. (Spoiler warning) As I recall, the guilty parties turn out to be a rather tragic pair of international lovers. ( )

A historic Russian trade agreement to purchase American wheat sets the stage for what is arguably the best book in a marvelous series. When the Sloan is robbed of nearly 1 million dollars in a Russian wheat deal and the courier who handled the papers is later found murdered, John Putnam Thatcher must team up with a Russian policeman to find the killer. The insight which provides the solution is one of the neatest in all of Emma Lathen and is inspired by Miss Corsa and the bumbling Bradford Withers. One of the Keating 100 best Mystery and Crime novels. ( )