Casino Royale

This title introduces James Bond: charming, sophisticated, handsome; chillingly ruthless and very deadly. Spymaster M has sent Bond on a mission to neutralize a lethal, high-rolling Russian operative called simply 'Le Chiffre' - by ruining him at the baccarat table and forcing his Soviet spymasters to 'retire' him. It seems that lady luck is taken with James - Le Chiffre has hit a losing streak. But some people just refuse to play by the rules, and Bond's attraction to a beautiful female agent leads him to disaster and an unexpected saviour. What was once a knockabout comedy experiment by Woody Allen also became the film that reinvigorated the James Bond franchise and gave us Daniel Craig’s abs of steel. And what a good book it is too.