Published in 1955, Moonraker is Ian Fleming’s third James Bond novel. The story begins when M asks Bond to investigate Hugo Drax, a celebrated industrialist financing the Moonraker missile project, after suspicions arise that Drax is cheating at cards. Bond later becomes involved in a security investigation at the missile complex, where he works alongside undercover Special Branch officer Gala Brand.

Bond discovers that Drax is not the patriotic British figure he appears to be, but a German former Nazi pursuing a plan to destroy London. The Moonraker project has been manipulated to carry a nuclear warhead, with assistance from the Soviet Union, turning a symbol of national defence into a weapon against Britain. The novel combines espionage, gambling, technological threat and Cold War politics, while examining deception, national identity and the dangers created when public prestige shields private motives.