Triple – Ken Follett (1979)

Triple by Ken Follett, published in 1979, is a masterfully woven espionage thriller rooted in the shadowy geopolitics of the Cold War era. Set against the backdrop of the 1968 Arab-Israeli tensions and the covert international nuclear arms race, the novel follows a deadly mission involving spies from multiple nations in a race to smuggle nuclear material to Israel. Follett constructs his story on a historical foundation, basing the narrative loosely on a real-life Mossad operation. This gripping tale is a blend of political intrigue, personal betrayal, and ideological confrontation, told with the author’s signature suspense and pacing.

Plot Summary

The first Sunday of November, 1947, Oxford was cold and brilliant under the pale English sun. Within one room, gathered unknowingly for the first and last time, were men whose paths would shape the fate of nations. A war had just ended, leaving ghosts behind in its wake. Among the young minds sipping sherry was Nathaniel Dickstein – small, wiry, bright-eyed behind round spectacles. Beside him stood Alan Cortone, the tough American soldier whose life Nat had saved years earlier. A Russian, David Rostov, discussed socialist ideals with measured dogma. Yasif Hassan, a Palestinian, matched him with elegant cynicism. And Eila, the Lebanese wife of a Semitic studies professor, moved among them with an unspoken gravity, her beauty drawing the gaze of more than one man.

Years passed. The world moved on, but in silence and secrecy, new battles formed in shadows. Nat Dickstein, now an agent of Israeli intelligence, carried the haunted knowledge of war and the burden of a people without shelter. He had survived Auschwitz, and with every breath and bruise, he built his purpose – to ensure that never again would his people be left defenseless. When whispers reached Tel Aviv of a covert Egyptian plan to build a nuclear bomb with uranium from an undisclosed location, Dickstein was summoned to do the impossible – steal enriched uranium before it could reach enemy hands.

The uranium was to pass from an American physicist, Professor Friedrich Schulz, through Egypt and eventually to the Soviet-aligned Egyptians. Israel had no choice. They would intercept the material en route, and Dickstein, the ghost in war’s aftermath, was chosen to lead the mission. What lay ahead was not war in its traditional form but an intricate dance of deception, silence, and death.

Dickstein moved with the precision of a man who had survived too much to fail now. He began in London, weaving through old contacts and secrets buried beneath decades. He learned Schulz was not merely a tourist but a man with connections, delivered into the Middle East under the protective eye of Arab agents. Every step led Dickstein deeper into a web where nations touched fingers and knives.

Meanwhile, the Egyptians believed they were careful. They assigned surveillance to one of their own, Towfik el-Masiri – or so he claimed. In truth, Towfik was Avram Ambache, a young Mossad operative, new to the field but sharp. He followed Schulz from Cairo Airport through the city’s markets, into the Western Desert, and to a vanishing point. He saw enough to know danger was real and imminent, but not enough to stop it. When he broke into Schulz’s apartment, he found clues, but also death waiting. Captured, tortured, and interrogated with brutal precision, Avram gave away nothing that mattered. And when his body gave out, he became another shadow in a war of shadows.

The news reached Pierre Borg, head of Mossad. Borg was a man permanently troubled, always waiting for disaster. When his best asset in Cairo – a double agent named Kawash – passed him the recovered photographic evidence from Schulz’s room, Borg understood. The blank film had spoken loudly. The Egyptians were building something, something they didn’t want even their Soviet allies to know.

Dickstein moved like a phantom through Europe. He orchestrated a heist in Rotterdam, where the uranium waited aboard a British cargo ship. He formed a team – a mix of criminals, idealists, and former comrades – and charted a plan to hijack the vessel and divert it to Israel. It required deception at every level. Identities were forged. Papers faked. Governments misled. And all the while, Yasif Hassan, once a rival in love, now a shadow on the same trail, followed with intent to kill or stop him.

Hassan and Dickstein had known each other in Oxford, once debating the rights of Jews and Arabs in Palestine. But in this game, old words turned to bullets. Yasif worked with the Egyptians, feeding them information, always a step behind but never out of sight. And Eila, once the forbidden desire, now lived only in memory – a ghost between them.

The theft unfolded on the high seas, amid the cold salt spray of the Atlantic. Disguised and disguised again, Dickstein’s team boarded the cargo vessel under cover of darkness. Tension pulsed through the hold like electricity. Guns were drawn. Blood was shed. The uranium was loaded onto a second ship – a rusted, half-forgotten vessel once meant for scrap, now carrying the future of a nation in its hull.

But betrayal reached even here. Hassan, ever the predator, traced Dickstein to the ship. The confrontation that followed was not one of shouts or threats but of cold, cutting decisions. Each man knew the other would not yield. On a battered deck, under iron skies, they fought – two sons of war-torn lands locked in a struggle older than either could name. Dickstein survived, barely, his mission intact, his soul fractured again.

He returned to Israel under a veil of silence. There would be no medals. No headlines. Only success measured in survival. The uranium reached its secret destination. Israel would not speak of it, but the future had changed. In quiet labs beneath the Negev desert, scientists began what others had tried to prevent.

Years later, Dickstein would vanish again into silence. His name would not appear in history books. But in boardrooms where strategies were whispered, in shadows where nations slept with open eyes, his name carried weight. He had stolen fire from the gods and delivered it to a people with no other defense.

The world would forget the name Avram Ambache. Towfik el-Masiri would remain a ghost. Yasif Hassan would die believing he had failed. But somewhere in the silence between nations, the balance had shifted, held in place by men who moved unseen.

Main Characters

• Nathaniel “Nat” Dickstein – A Holocaust survivor and Israeli intelligence agent, Nat is the emotional and ideological core of the novel. Scarred physically and mentally by his past, especially his time in Nazi concentration camps, Nat is fiercely loyal to the cause of Zionism. Brilliant, resourceful, and deeply private, his stoic exterior conceals a passionate drive to secure a homeland for his people, and his daring mission to steal uranium is both deeply political and intensely personal.

• Yasif Hassan – A charming and intelligent Palestinian nationalist, Yasif serves as both a romantic rival and ideological counterpart to Dickstein. Educated and sophisticated, he believes in his cause with equal fervor, often clashing with Dickstein both philosophically and literally. His relationship with Eila adds a layer of emotional complexity to his character and the broader conflict.

• Eila Ashford – The beautiful, enigmatic wife of an Oxford professor, Eila is caught in a web of emotional and political tension. Her allure and affair with Yasif complicate Dickstein’s mission and amplify the personal stakes of the story. She embodies the moral ambiguities and human costs at the heart of the ideological battle.

• Alan Cortone – An American ex-soldier and friend of Dickstein, Alan serves as a narrative bridge between the past and present. His reunion with Dickstein offers a poignant exploration of memory, trauma, and diverging paths taken by wartime comrades in peacetime.

• David Rostov – A Communist Russian student at Oxford, Rostov offers a sharp contrast in ideology, often engaging in spirited debates about socialism and the future of the Middle East. His presence underscores the global dimensions of the local conflict.

Theme

• Zionism and National Identity – The novel’s primary theme revolves around the formation and defense of Israel. Nat Dickstein’s mission to acquire uranium for Israel’s nuclear arsenal reflects a deep-seated desire for security and sovereignty. His journey is a metaphor for the birth of a nation from the ashes of genocide, and the moral quandaries involved in such a quest.

• Moral Ambiguity in Espionage – Follett delves into the murky world of international espionage, portraying spies not as heroes or villains but as complex, morally conflicted individuals. The torturous interrogation of agents and the betrayal among allies question the price of patriotism and the ethical costs of war.

• Love and Betrayal – Personal relationships in the novel often mirror political ones, especially in the tangled web between Dickstein, Eila, and Yasif. The theme of betrayal, whether romantic or ideological, runs deeply, showcasing the human collateral in geopolitical conflicts.

• Survivorship and Trauma – Dickstein’s Holocaust past and the scars it left—both visible and hidden—highlight a recurrent motif of survival. His physical frailty contrasts with an iron determination, and the narrative frequently explores how past trauma fuels present actions.

• East vs. West Ideological Clash – Through characters like Rostov and Hassan, the novel presents a spectrum of political ideologies—capitalism, communism, nationalism—colliding in postwar Europe and the Middle East, enriching the global stakes of the plot.

Writing Style and Tone

Ken Follett’s writing in Triple is fast-paced, cinematic, and rich with authentic detail. He constructs his scenes with a journalist’s precision and a novelist’s flair for suspense. Dialogue is snappy and purposeful, revealing character and advancing the plot with minimal exposition. His action scenes are taut and immersive, often building tension through meticulous description rather than sensationalism.

The tone of Triple is serious, often somber, reflecting the life-and-death stakes of the story. While espionage thrillers often lean into glamour or hyperbole, Follett grounds his narrative in historical reality and emotional truth. The alternating viewpoints offer psychological depth, particularly in the internal struggles of Dickstein. There’s a persistent undercurrent of melancholy, stemming from the weight of history and the moral compromises made in pursuit of survival and justice.