Kingdom of Shadows (2000) is a novel by Alan Furst. It won the 2001 Hammett Prize. Plot summary The story is set in Europe between April 1938 and July 1939, a time of ever-increasing fear and apprehension throughout the continent. Nicholas Morath is an expatriate Hungarian in his forties and the co-owner of an advertising agency in Paris. His uncle, Count Janos Polanyi, is a high-level functionary at the Hungarian embassy in France. Morath is in fact an amateur spy, sent on one dangerous mission after another at his uncle's behest (laundering money through the Antwerp diamond industry, or spending a week in a Romanian jail, for example). Polanyi tells his nephew little about the reasons for or the results of these excursions, and friction often rises between the two men. But after Polanyi disappears mysteriously, Morath continues his perilous work alone. Characters Count Janos Polanyi is an elderly Hungarian aristocrat and a career diplomat. He seems to be a cynical, urbane gentleman who appreciates all the pleasures Paris has to offer. He is in fact guided by two secret convictions: a belief than men like himself did too little to prevent the First World War and a determination to prevent Hitler and his minions from taking over Hungary. Nicholas Morath is a combat veteran of the First World War, has resided in Paris for almost twenty years, and appears to live the life of a successful business executive and man about town. But like his uncle, he considers himself to be a member of "the Hungarian Race", an aristocracy committed to the old knightly ideals even in an age when castles and titles are a thing of the past. His intimidating looks belie a warm, generous nature that few people can see. Cara Dionello is Morath's lover in the first part of the book. A shallow young Argentine heiress living in Paris on her father's money, she prefers not to notice Morath's frequent absences unless they interfere with her good time. Cara provides comic relief and is clearly the latest of a series of similar women in Morath's life. Mary Day is a copy editor at Morath's ad agency. She is a thoughtful and perceptive women who is drawn to Morath's less obvious qualities, and the two grow very close in the later stages of the story. She writes "naughty" novels under a pen name for Obelisk Press, and