XPD

XPD is a spy novel by Len Deighton, published in 1981, and set in 1979. The plot sees an ambitious plan by a group of former SS officers to seize power in West Germany. They intend to publish wartime documents about an alleged secret meeting between Churchill and Hitler in 1940. Along with the efforts of a British agent, Boyd Stuart, to prevent the documents becoming public. As if this information were made public, it would ruin Churchill's reputation.

The title is the code used by the Secret Intelligence Service in the novel. It refers to assassinations it carries out, short for “expedient demise.”

XPD merges seamlessly three areas of Deighton's extensive expertise:
1. World War Two history,
2. spy fiction, and
3. Hollywood movies.

Deighton's extraordinary talent for writing fantastic dialogue between characters and while the elaborate plot is convoluted, it's a decent enough tale.

I listened to the 1985 BBC dramatization of the novel.