A very thoughtful story, combining a mannered description of an older and jaded expatriate British banker, a ferociously dedicated young woman lawyer, good hearted Turkish immigrants, an illegal refugee fleeing torture in Turkey and Russia. What could go wrong? The national security apparatus of several countries, Turkey, Russia, Germany, and especially the United States, combine to grind all of these folks to dust, while well aware of their innocence of the acts of which they are variously accused, in order to "sting" an older respected Islamic scholar who diverts 0.1% of a large donation to Islamic charities to a dubious international freighter who may have assisted terrorist activities in the past.
Interesting and ironic coincidence, since this book was published in 2008, the head of NSA speaking about the recent universal surveillance operations justified them by referring to two terrorist actions thwarted, both of which were "sting" operations with the FBI supplying the action plan, the funding, and the terrorist materials to marginally competent individuals, while the alleged Boston Marathon bomber flew under the radar, in spite of specific warnings from the Russian security organization. Raises the question as to whether National Intelligence might by an oxymoron.
In any case, le Carre remains entertaining and prescient.