On the run: thoughts on Geoffrey Household's Rogue Male

A RICH, aristocratic Englishman attempts to shoot a dictator from a Central European country. He misses. He is hunted and caught but manages to escape after fooling his captors that he is dead. On the run, he disguises himself but finds it difficult to conceal his bad eye. He is able to go back home--that is, England--only to realize even his own people are looking for him. He cannot go to the police; he'll be jailed and branded a traitor. He cannot live his previous life; the dictator's men are after him still. So he goes to the far countryside, digs himself a home, and lives there in obscurity. He meets Asmodeus, a cat, his constant companion in solitude. Can he live like that forever?

The thrill is so understated it's too palpable to be ignored.