After having just acquired 00 status, a young James Bond is assigned to his first mission, taking him to the jungles of Madagascar, the crystalline waters of the Bahamas, and the shadowed elegance of Montenegro — where he must enter a high stakes poker game at Casino Royale and outplay Le Chiffre; a cunning criminal financier who’s gambling with his clients’ funds. At Bond’s side is Vesper Lynd, a treasury envoy whose beauty is matched only by her defences — and her ability to slip past his. But as the game deepens, so too does the risk. For in love, as at the table, the deadliest hand is the one you never see coming… and trust is the highest stake of all.