Tehran

A covert mission brings a young intelligence operative back to the city where she was born. In Tehran, familiarity offers Tamar a way into the city without making her safe inside it.

Niv Sultan carries the story through a mixture of technical work, improvisation and the strain of maintaining a cover. The thriller is strongest when an ordinary conversation might expose something she cannot afford to reveal. Shaun Toub gives the pursuit an opponent with his own responsibilities and judgement, rather than an obstacle waiting to be outwitted.

The plot makes use of espionage's familiar complications, including divided loyalties and plans that do not survive contact with other people. It is primarily a suspense drama, not an explanation of the region. Homeland is a useful companion if it is the uncertainty of undercover work that interests you.