Why are the smartest and most experienced people often the most susceptible to being deceived? From the counter-espionage cases of the 1980s and the political infiltration of 2011 to the AI ​​era of today, the tools have constantly evolved, yet the weaknesses of human nature remain unchanged.

Two stories set thirty years apart—one ostensibly unfolding within the counter-espionage apparatus and the other in political circles—share a strikingly similar underlying logic.