Cold War bargaining.

Rating: 9/10 (2 December 2016)

The Three Acts:
The initial tableaux: In 1957, the FBI arrests Rudolf Abel for espionage against the United States. For propaganda reasons, not for being true to American ideals, the powers that be select James to be the council of Abel. James tries to represent Abel well, and receives stiff resistance for his efforts. He does establish that the US should treat its prisoners well at least for the hope that our imprisoned soldiers or agents will receive reasonable behavior from jailers.
In 1960, the Russians shoot down the U2 reconnaissance plane flown by Francis Gary Powers over the USSR, and imprison him afterward. Powers has a great deal of classified intelligence that might be divulged. The Russians want Abel back; the Americans want Powers back.
Delineation of conflicts: James is 'requested' to negotiate the swap, but is not given diplomatic recognition, and must work as a private citizen. The East Germans detain Pryor, an economics PhD student as a spy to use as a chess piece.
James has to deal with a lot of murkiness, since none of the transactions are done officially. He has to deal with the Russians to get Powers, and the East Germans to get Pryor. The Russians and East Germans have their own agendas.
Resolution: There's a lot of juggling, but it turns out relatively well.