Explained: Writer Nick Harkaway expands his father John le Carré's spyverse in new thriller 'The Taper Man'

"The Taper Man" is a new spy thriller set in John le Carré's world, written by his son Nick Harkaway

The Circus

Le Carré's fictionalized version of MI6, the British intelligence service

The Cousins

Le Carré's fictionalized version of the CIA, the American intelligence agency

Taper Man

A deep-cover agent left behind after a spy ring is busted, to bide their time and await instructions

Smileyverse

Harkaway's term for the fictional spy world built around George Smiley

Cold War

The historical period of tension between the Soviet Union and Western powers, the backdrop for le Carré's novels