"Smiley's People", set in late 1977, finds a retired Smiley launching an investigation into the death of an elderly Estonian general, nationalist activist, and erstwhile Circus agent. A convoluted trail leads Smiley to discover that Karla has an illegitimate daughter whose existence he has gone to great lengths to protect, and whom he is attempting to smuggle into France to receive desperately needed treatment for a severe case of schizophrenia. Smiley uses his knowledge of Karla's daughter to blackmail him into defecting, and in December 1977 he greets him at the Berlin Wall as part of a contingent of Circus agents including Guillam and Esterhase. Karla is taken into British custody with Esterhase congratulating Smiley on the accomplishment of a lifetime, though he reproaches himself for the methods used to achieve it.