A Thriller by Synthia Baynes
In the shadows of the châteaux, the only thing more complex than the blend is the conspiracy.
Noah Tan and Diego Álvarez know wine — tasting notes, terroir, and the secrets hidden in oak barrels. They don't know geopolitics. Until a routine sommelier consultation in Bordeaux turns deadly.
When a stolen neuromorphic chip — capable of controlling the military — goes missing from a covert government transport, three powers converge: a ruthless Russian syndicate, a shadowy operative, and France's DGSI.
Pulled into a world of surveillance and double-cross, they must play spy to survive — feeding false leads, eavesdropping in châteaux, and navigating diplomatic lies — while trying to keep their friendship, their lives, and Bordeaux's fragile peace intact.
In a world where a "long finish" usually refers to a fine Cabernet, they're about to find out that some secrets leave a permanent aftertaste.
A thriller about loyalty, betrayal, and the fine line between taste and terror, set where the stakes are as rich and dangerous as the wine itself.
"Because what's inside matters."
— Millésime, Synthia Baynes