‘The Spy Who Came In From The Cold’ is one of the best suspense creating novels written by John Le Carre. It was written in 1963. The story of this novel revolves around Alec Leamas, an aging British intelligence agent who was sent to East Germany to calumniate an intelligence officer there. This novel earned huge critical praise after its publication and became one of the best International sellers. It was also selected as one of the All-Times 100 Novels by Time Magazines. In 1963, due to its substantial popularity, Martin Ritt directed a cinematic amendation of this novel with Richard Burton as Leamas.
The protagonist of this story, Alec Leamas, is commanding the circus' West Berlin office. Leamas has been recalled by the circus chief for one last mission. The mission was to forge the refusal of a senior British agent for the East German Operative Mind and then to compile Mundt as a British double agent and one of his subordinates, Fiedler, already suspects him that Mundt is a double agent. Fiedler is innocent and has been victimized as a subordinate.
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The circus fires Limas and leaves him with a small pension to draw East German's attention to him as a potential defect. He works at a run-down library. There he meets Liz Gold and they fall in love. Before taking the final step of the Circus' Control chief's scheme - he promises Liz not to look for him, no matter what she hears. After launching a mission by attacking a native grocer to capture himself, he agrees to leave his lover Liz alone.
After his release from prison, he is approached by an East German recruiter and taken abroad, first to the Netherlands and then to East Germany, where he meets with senior officials from the East German intelligence service, Abteilung. During his debriefing, he leaves comforting hints about the British payments to a double agent in Abteilung. Meanwhile, Smiley poses as Leamas' friend, appearing in Liz's apartment to ask him questions and offer financial support.
In East Germany, Leamas met Fiedler. The two engage in an expansionist debate in which Leamas' pragmatism contradicts Fielder's ideological point of view. Leamas observes that Fielder is concerned about the integrity of his motivations and the ethics of his actions. . Mundt, on the other hand, is a cruel, opportunistic ex-Nazi, a former Nazi who joined the Communists shortly after the end of the war and who is anti-Semite.
The power struggle within Abteilung was revealed when Mundt ordered the arrest and torture of Fiedler and Leamas. East German government leaders intervened after learning that Fiedler had applied for an arrest warrant the same day. Fiedler and Mundt were released and then summoned to appear before a tribunal on camera. At trial, Leamas presented a series of secret bank account payments that Fiedler matched to Mundt's movements, while Fiedler presented other evidence that influenced Mundt as a British agent.
Liz, meanwhile, who was invited to the Communist Party's information exchange in East Germany, is forced to testify at the tribunal. Mundt's lawyer testified that she admitted that Smiley had leased the apartment after meeting her and she promised not to look for Leamas after he has disappeared. She also admits that she said goodbye to him the night before the attack on the grocery store. Realizing that their cover is torn, Leamas offers to tell everyone in exchange for Liz's release, admitting that the Control had given him the mission to set up the mandate as a double agent. But when the tribunal stopped the trial and arrested Fiedler Leamas finally understands the real nature of the Control and Smiley's scheme.
Liz is confined to a prison cell, but Mundt released her and put her in a car that would take her to freedom. Leamas is on wheels. On his way to Berlin, Leamas explained that Mundt was actually a double agent who reported Smiley. The target of Leamas' mission was not the Fiedler because Fiedler was close to exposing the Mundt. Leamas and Liz inadvertently defamed Leamas and, in turn, provided Fiedler with the mandate. Their intimate relationship is easy to plan. Liz realizes her horror that her actions have helped the Circus protect its assets, the humble mandate, at the expense of the anxious and idealistic Fiedler. Liz asked what would become of Fiedler. Leamas replied that he probably Will be hanged.
Liz's love for Leamas took away her moral hatred and she broke with Leamas in the wire hitting the Berlin Wall, from where they could climb the wall and escape to West Berlin. Leamas climbs up, but when he gets down to help Liz, she is shot by Mundt's workers to avoid any suspicion of Leamas' escape. She falls and hesitates as Smiley calls Leamas from the other side of the wall. He then went down to the Eastern side of the wall and was shot.
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