A real-life political assassination story—complete with KGB, CIA, MI5, and Russian mobsters—that reverberates from the streets of London to the deadly halls of today's Kremlin. A Vintage Original.On November 1, 2006, journalist and Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in London. He died twenty-two days later. The cause of death was Polonium—a rare, lethal, and highly radioactive substance. This is the inside story of the life and death of Litvinenko. And it is the story of the aftermath: a decade of geopolitical disruptions still felt today. In A Very Expensive Poison, Luke Harding guides readers through a maze of spies, intrigue, organized crime, and political power players to uncover the truth about Litvinenko's murder. In doing so, not only does he also become a target, but he also unearths a chain of corruption and death leading straight to Vladimir Putin, which sheds terrifying light on Russia's secret war with the West.