THE HOT SEASON

A trouble spot in the eastern Mediterranean is getting hotter over the first free election in which the outlawed Communist minority is working to effect the defeat of the presidential candidate, Dr. Manoussein. David Spofford, an agent in the U.S. embassy, is ready to avert a crisis single-handedly, hides out Manoussein, and finds his extra curricular political activities have repercussions within his private life. His cloak and dagger forays throw his wife, Natalia, once Princess Mirkha, into an affair with the correspondent Kitt who uses any means to get a story. And it is David's secret he wants. When Manoussein is about to be picked up, David is forced to take orders from him and is kidnaped by a loyal henchman of the candidate for an isolated stay on a spell-binding island and, in the five days before the election, comes to his senses with the realization that what is best for him is to return to the United States and make sure that he, Natalia, and their two young sons put down some roots. Dangerous politicking provides a lesson for a lone wolf in foreign areas. Smooth telling.