 Serena is immediately taken by Haley 's published short fiction . She travels to the University of Sussex , where he works , to offer him a stipend from the fictional Freedom International Foundation . Soon the two begin a romantic affair , but things gradually start to unravel . Serena discovers that Professor Canning ( who , it turns out , broke off their affair only because he knew he was dying from cancer ) was in fact a Soviet spy , and she was recruited because the agency wanted to keep tabs on Canning . Then , when Haley 's first novel comes out , it is a great critical success , but its dystopian , anti @-@ capitalist theme is not well received by the agency . Finally , his affair with Serena is exposed by the press , and the whole Sweet Tooth program is threatened . 
