Episode 1

In Jennie Rooney's compelling spy thriller, a knock at the door threatens to expose the past Joan Stanley has been so keen to hide for the last 50 years.

Eleanor Bron and Olivia Hallinan are the readers.

BBC Radio 4 Extra's Book at Beachtime is a deliciously intense spy thriller set in wartime Cambridge and Cold-war London by the Costa shortlisted author, Jennie Rooney.

Inspired by the true story of Melita Norwood - who was exposed as a Cold-War spy for the Soviets - Red Joan is both a gripping "what would you do" tale of moral decisions and a moving love story.

Joan Stanley has a secret. She is a loving mother, a doting grandmother, and leads a quiet, unremarkable life in the suburbs. Then one morning there is a knock on the door, and suddenly the past she has been so keen to hide for the last fifty years threatens to rip apart all that she holds dear.

Abridged by Alison Joseph
Producer: Elizabeth Allard.

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in 2013.