A Firing Offense

A Novel

David Ignatius

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9780393240429

From the New York Times -bestselling author, "a dynamic thriller with the coolest, smartest journalist that fiction ever produced" (Ben Bradlee,  The Washington Post ).

When rising-star reporter Eric Truell accepts information from a maverick CIA agent, he becomes enmeshed in an international trade war in which even his own newspaper may be an unsuspecting participant. When Eric's sources tell him there is a spy inside the newsroom, he is tempted to cross a dangerous professional line and risk his career—possibly even his life—to find the truth.

"A compelling, clever morality tale in which an upwardly mobile young newsman, Eric Truell, is tempted by the devil, in this case the CIA, to sell his journalistic soul for a big story." —Derek Lochte, Los Angeles Times

"[Ignatius] has a notable gift for elegant plotting and pacing and a finer ear for language than most thriller writers. And his portrayal of the CIA as dangerous and dry-rotting feels authentic." —Mark Harris, Entertainment Weekly

"What is so admirable about David Ignatius's novels of espionage is not merely the exquisite intrigue, the gnawing suspense or the compelling characterizations, but the fact that these books are completely original." —Scott Turow, #1 New York Times -bestselling author

"Features masterful plot mechanics, well-drawn characters, wit, and the truest depiction of an ego-mad passionate newsroom I've ever seen." —David Remnick, Pulitzer Prize-winning author

"A smart, perceptive novel about the temptations and rewards of the news industry . . . Mr. Ignatius deserves praise for an ending that recognizes that betrayals and mistakes have indelible consequences." —Neil Conan,  The New York Times Book Review

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Contents
• Prologue
• I: PARIS (MAY–JULY 1994)
• II: WASHINGTON (JANUARY–MARCH 1996)
• III: WASHINGTON–BEIJING (MARCH–MAY 1996)
• IV: WASHINGTON–BOSTON–MONTREAL (MAY–JULY 1996)
• V: SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA (OCTOBER 1996)
• Acknowledgments
• Author’s Note
• Praise
• Copyright
• Also by David Ignatius