The Unquiet Sleep

The Unquiet Sleep is a 1962 suspense novel by British author William Haggard which was published in England by Cassell and in the United States by Ives Washburn.

Colonel Charles Russell of the Security Executive, a not entirely imaginary British counter-espionage organization, while not a protagonist in the technical sense, holds the storyline together in the background by his operations, while the characters in the foreground carry the action.

Leggatt is aware that there may be dangerous, unintended side-effects to Mecron, and he and his supervisor take steps to ensure the drug is withdrawn from the market until conclusive studies have been carried out.

In this, the fourth book of the series, Colonel Russell of the Security Executive is without his "invaluable" aide, Major Mortimer, and suffers from a lack of consultations with his Minister, Gabriel Palliser, the Home Office Secretary.

Whilst their chemist in Turkey attempts to duplicate the drug, they kidnap and torture Henry Leggatt, with the hope that he will lead them to the stockpiled supplies at his former pharmaceutical company.

Col. Russell of Security and his fearless, attractive assistant Rachel are assigned to check the continuing availability of the drug on the black market, and traffic which leads to murder.