Lie Down With Lions, Ken Follett's final spy thriller before he began the cycle of historical books that occupied him for a decade, takes place mostly in the mountains of Afghanistan in about 1982, during the height of US-funded resistance to the Soviet invasion. Here a CIA agent and decorated Vietnam veteran, a British woman he loves, a French doctor who is a KGB operative posing as an international aid worker (and also the husband of the British woman), and the KGB itself all interact among Afghan resistance fighters (the fathers of today's Taliban) who seek to throw out the Soviets and establish an Islamic nation governed by the Koran. This time out Follett's novel is less about suspense than it is the straightforward telling of a sound story. The violence is held to a minimum and always the plot rests squarely in the gray hues that lie between the black and white morality so common among other authors. Unlike so many other Follett tales, particularly Triple, this book does seem a bit dated with its Cold War Realpolitiks and Islamists as good guys, but as a vehicle for a jaunt back in time to when the world stage was a different place, this is an interesting trip. There is also the matter of its unexpected ending, which was a stroke of genius. All I'll say is that in the last pages when all seemed at its darkest, Follett delivered a deus ex machine-style happening that settled scores magnificently in a satisfying way I didn't see coming. Lie Down With Lions is a perfect example of why a good book can be more fun to read than a great one.

About 20 years ago in Paris, a CIA agent from America called John Ellis is undercover and living with an Englishwoman named Jane Lambert. At first it was just so he could fit in more, but after a while they started to fall in love. He wanted to propose to her, but decided to wait until after his "assignment" was over. There's another man named Jean-Pierre who is also in love with Jane. Jean-Pierre is a doctor who has decided to leave and go to Afghanistan to help out all the sick people. Since he will be gone for two years, he asked Jane to come along. At first she refused, but after she learned that Ellis was a spy she went.
She loved all the village people and stayed in a small town in The Valley of Five Lions. She grew close to everyone, but more close to Jean-Pierre. They married and she had a baby, and she never once questioned her marriage until one day Ellis showed up. Then she learned of Jean-Pierre's secret...
I absolutely loved this book because of the love and the action. I never guessed what would happen and the ending was almost perfect.