In the annals of espionage, the Cambridge Five, a group of intellectuals from the hallowed University of Cambridge, have earned a special notoriety in their efforts to spy for the Soviet Union.

Having been recruited by the Soviets while they were students at Cambridge, the group were very well placed in upper class British society.

One member, Anthony Blunt, served as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s art adviser, and was even knighted by the Queen.

The ring leader of this band of spies was Kim Philby, who eventually defected to Russia following a long career as a Soviet agent who had betrayed British and American interests.

Against this historical background, Daniel Silva, author of spy stories featuring art restorer and Israeli special agent Gabriel Allon, has written “The Other Woman.” (Harper Books, 467 pages)

The plot surrounds the ingenious premise as to what would happen if the infamous Kim Philby had a secret child — a child whose very DNA was wired for espionage?

What if Philby’s progeny, whose genetics and environment had combined to form the ultimate pro-Russian spy, had upon maturation infiltrated the very heart of British intelligence?

To discover the person who is betraying the Anglo-American services, Israeli spy Gabriel Allon must find the woman who was Kim Philby’s lover and the mother of this most infamous double agent.

Daniel Silva weaves historical elements concerning the treacherous Kim Philby with fiction in this entertaining thriller which resonates in this age of Russian interference in Western democracies.