Rotten with Honour [first edition]

From a review. . David Hale is a likeable hero, a thoroughly decent man ("rotten with honour," according to his Soviet nemesis), devoted to doing what's right, who discovers just how unsuited he is to life as a secret agent. He loves his country with a sort of naive, outmoded patriotism, and explains to his girlfriend Carol that he's willing to do what needs to be done to "keep the country clean for people like you". He may be willing, but he's not very good at it. Most of the action takes place in London, following Hale's encounters with a ruthless Russian agent, Starin, as both of them try to get their hands on Project 107, which may or may not be the groundbreaking work of a genius scientist.