From Russia with Love

The story, without spoilers

Soviet intelligence designs an operation with Bond at its centre. The bait is a prized decoding machine and Tatiana Romanova, a young clerk who says she will bring it to the West if Bond escorts her. The offer is almost too convenient, and London knows it.

Bond goes to Istanbul, where his ally Darko Kerim guides him through a city of informers and rival interests. Plans take shape for a long journey across Europe by train.

Fleming lets the reader see parts of the other side's plan before Bond does. The suspense lies in timing and in what each person does not know.

Can I start here?

It works as a starting point for many readers, but its ending leads directly into Dr. No, so read the two together.

What stands out

An unusually large share of the book follows the opposing service before Bond appears. The Orient Express journey is one of the best-known sequences in the series.

• Ian Fleming Publications says US President John F. Kennedy was a prominent admirer of the novel.
• The 2025 Audible recording is read by Mark Gatiss.

Content notes

Suggested age 16+. Assassination plots, violence, sexual manipulation and dated stereotypes.

Book and film

The 1963 Sean Connery film follows the central characters and the train journey fairly closely, with changes. BBC Radio 4 broadcast a dramatisation on 21 July 2012, with Toby Stephens as Bond.

Where it is set

• Türkiye: Istanbul
• Across Europe by train on the Orient Express
• England: London

Real and fictional Bond places

Main characters

James Bond, Tatiana Romanova, Darko Kerim, Rosa Klebb, Red Grant, M.