The turncoat hero is a recurring figure in Reynolds work, especially in his many stories dealing with underground movements in the Soviet Bloc and the United States [REF] (see, for instance, the short story "Freedom").
One of the central themes of Reynolds' work is the subversion of a society's status quo in the name of socioeconomic progress [REF] (see, for example, the short story "Ultima Thule"); often, this theme is tied to another key Reynolds theme, the continual search for a better society [REF].