Funeral in Berlin Funeral in Berlin Funeral in Berlin is a 1964 spy novel by Len Deighton set between Saturday October 5th and Sunday November 10th 1963. It was the third of four novels about an unnamed British agent. It was preceded by "The IPCRESS File" (1962) and "Horse Under Water" (1963), and followed by "Billion-Dollar Brain" (1966). The protagonist, who is unnamed, travels to Berlin to arrange the defection of a Soviet scientist named Semitsa, this being brokered by Johnny Vulkan of the Berlin intelligence community. Despite the protagonist's initial scepticism, the deal seems to have the support of Russian security-chief Colonel
The IPCRESS File program in Canada. Deighton's protagonist is nameless; this is maintained through all the sequels (although later in the series called "Charles"). Early in the novel we learn that he worked for Military Intelligence for three years before joining his present agency – WOOC(P) – as a civilian employee. WOOC(P) is described as "one of the smallest and most important of the Intelligence Units". (It is never stated exactly what the initials stand for, although his previous boss refers to it as Provisional.) We also learn in passing that he is from Burnley, Lancashire, and that he was born in 1922