The IPCRESS File

by Len Deighton

The novel takes the form of the unnamed protagonist's personal report to the Minister of Defence, thus becoming the 'IPCRESS File' of the title. Events begin soon after the protagonist's transfer from military intelligence to WOOC(P), a small civilian intelligence agency reporting directly to the British Cabinet, where he works under the command of a man named Dalby. An intelligence broker code-named "Jay" is suspected to be behind a series of kidnappings of British VIPs with the intention of selling them to the Soviets, and the protagonist is assigned to meet Jay to secure the release of "Raven", a high-ranking scientist. While trying to meet Jay at a Soho strip club to negotiate Raven's release, the protagonist discovers Raven's unconscious body in a back room but is unsuccessful in trying to rescue him.

WOOC(P) learns that Raven is to be transferred to the Soviets in Beirut, and a rescue mission is organised. The protagonist is assigned as a lookout and kills the occupants of a car which suddenly arrives on the scene, believing them to be operatives working for Jay; they instead turn out to be members of the US ONI. The operation is otherwise a success and Raven is recovered, but investigation into Jay continues. A break appears when Housemartin, one of Jay's high-ranking operatives, is arrested in Shoreditch, but the protagonist and another operative arrive at the police station only to discover that Housemartin has been murdered in his cell. Information from the arrest enables WOOC(P) and the police to storm one of Jay's safe-houses, but it has been abandoned. A military statistician, Carswell, and his assistant Murray, are assigned to WOOC(P) to attempt to find a statistical link between the disappearances of the scientists and to help with the administration of the department, the protagonist is assigned an assistant, Jean Tonnesen, a beautiful young woman towards whom he begins to develop romantic feelings. Dalby reveals intelligence suggesting that Jay's operations will interfere with an American neutron bomb test in the Pacific. He, Jean and the protagonist are sent to the test site as British observers and while there the protagonist learns from an old friend in the CIA that the Americans suspect him of being a double-agent due to the deaths of the US operatives. Jean reveals that Dalby has been visiting an abandoned Japanese bunker on the island and while following Dalby to the scene the protagonist is present when the site is sabotaged, setting back the bomb test and killing a military police officer. The protagonist is arrested by the Americans and interrogated, before apparently being transferred to Hungary on suspicion of being a Soviet agent. There he is drugged and subjected to psychological and physical torture, and nearly cracks before eventually managing to escape—only to discover that he is in fact in London. The protagonist takes refuge with Charlie Cavendish, the father of a friend killed during the Second World War, and attempts to reestablish contact with WOOC(P) without being arrested. Charlie is killed by Jay's operatives, forcing the protagonist on the run; he approaches Dalby at his home, but discovers Dalby with Jay, Murray and another of Jay's operatives—confirming the protagonist's suspicions that Dalby is in fact the traitor.

The protagonist is discovered by Murray, who turns-out to be an undercover operative from military intelligence also investigating Dalby. The protagonist escapes, but is captured and taken to meet Jay—he has, however, allowed military intelligence to follow them, and Jay and Dalby are arrested by Colonel Ross. The protagonist reveals to Jean that Jay and Dalby were using a process called "Induction of Psycho-neuroses by Conditioned REflex with Stress" (IPCRESS) to brainwash the VIPs into loyalty to the Soviet Union. The links that Carswell had discovered were in fact indicators of the personality traits that Jay had used to determine which VIPs would easily succumb to the process. Colonel Ross’ earlier attempt to sell information to the protagonist had been a test of his loyalty. The novel ends with the protagonist concluding his report to the Minister, revealing that Jay has turned and begun working for the British, while Dalby has ostensibly died in a car accident.