'Smiley's People' is the straight and cold end to Le Carre's Karla Trilogy of novels. Much like its predecessors 'Tinker Tailor Solider Spy' and 'The Honourable Schoolboy,' the book follows the consistently un-retired British spy George Smiley as he seeks to break a Soviet espionage ring known by the codename of its leader, Karla.

Of the books in the trilogy, 'Smiley's People' is the most deceptively simple to follow, with less of the incalculable multitudes of meticulously crafted characters and exotic locales to keep track of, and more focus on returning old faces, such as Toby Esterhase and (for all too brief a time), Peter Guillam, to the fray. Guillam's lack of presence in the novel is one of its few flaws, as the character has in the past always acted as a Watson-esque companion to the closed-off George Smiley. To not have Peter accompanying Smiley on his quest to bring down Karla leaves the reader grasping without many leads at what can only be a slow arc of hostility and isolation building up within the once lovable George Smiley.

While Smiley has always been an enchanting enigma of a character, it is only in his final novel that we can fully see his intentions revealed, and it is only for a brief flash at its conclusion. The seven books and multiple decades of Cold War lies and spycraft finally burn their way to the heart of George Smiley, and his fall, or lack of one, is the most chilling casualty Le Carre can write for the entirety of the conflict.