The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad

Joseph Conrad's THE SECRET AGENT A novel is set in the underworld of London life--the underworld of anarchists and spies. Verloc, "the secret agent," is ostensibly an anarchist, but in reality a spy of one of the big Embassies. He keeps a dim, disreputable shop in side street of Soho, where he lives with his wife, Winnie, his wife's mother, and his half-witted brother-in-law, Stevie. Verloc in his heavy and slothful way is a domesticated man and well pleased with his comfortable existence. So that he is horribly upset when he gets a broad hint from the Embassy that he is not doing enough for his money...