A Rose for Ana Maria

Written in 1974, compared to other works by Frank Yerby I have read, A Rose for Ana Maria is a short novel in span of about 1 week.

The main character is Diego Fernandez, a member of PCE. In one night, he plants bomb in 5 different embassies in Paris, 3 of them belonged to the Spanish government. His superior then sends him to Madrid to do another operation: to remove a minister dangerous to both PCE and ETA. He will be accompanied by Ana Maria, a daughter of an aristocrat. Prior to the operation, Diego's belief has been shaken. A Vice Consul for Spain in Paris has been kidnapped by his party and while guarding him, Diego had a long talk with the hostage and grown fond of him, but he later accidentally killed the man in his attempt to free him. On the way to Madrid, Diego falls in love with Ana Maria, but they know they cannot ran away from the task. Meanwhile, the woman planted in their next victim's office, has talked about the mission. In short: the Madrid job is a suicide for both Diego and Ana Maria. In the end, when trying to minimize number of victims in their Madrid job, Ana Maria blows up her own cover.

This book is not an easy read. The characters talk a lot about the political situation in Spain in 1974. Often sentences in French and Spanish are used, although the characters thankfully repeat them in English.