Fellow passenger

Claudio Howerd-Wolferstan has no connection to Soviet agents or espionage, but he still finds himself breaking into a heavily guarded government hostel in pursuit of an heirloom that belongs to his family. That single act places him on the wanted lists of both British police and Russian communist leaders, and he must flee a charge of high treason. Disguise is his greatest weapon. He talks his way out of one tight spot after another, and each time he slips past his hunters. The novel keeps asking how much longer his good fortune can hold. Claudio shifts identities so quickly that the chase takes on a comic, breathless energy, moving from a Spanish sailor to a chimney sweep, and from an elephant trainer to an Indian guitarist. Geoffrey Household counted this among his own favourite books.