Eye of the Needle is a spy thriller novel written by British author Ken Follett. Published in 1978 by the Penguin Group, this novel was Follett's first successful, bestselling effort as a novelist.

The book also became an film with Kate Nelligan and Donald Sutherland.

Plot teaser

Operation Fortitude was the massive counter-intelligence operation undertaken by the Allies during World War II. The goal of the operation was to divert German military troops from Normandy, the site of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of France. If the German OKW (High Command, West) were convinced that the invasion was to come at Calais, those resources would not be able to reach the battlefield, blocked by the Seine river.

To that end, the Allies created the fictitious First U.S. Army Group (FUSAG), postioned in northern England, near the Pas de Calais. FUSAG looked like a massive concentration of troops -- at least, from an aerial photograph. At ground level, FUSAG could be made for what it really was: a charade. In Eye of the Needle, Follett explores the possibly of a German spy managing to take pictures of the faux buildup, and his journey to get those pictures in the hands of Hitler.

List of characters

• Henry Faber
• Percival Godliman - MI5 agent
• Frederick Bloggs - MI5 agent
• David Rose - young R.A.F. fighter pilot
• Lucy Rose

External link

• Ken Follett's Eye of the Needle - official site (http://www.ken-follett.com/bibliography/eye.html)