Sometimes, treachery is nothing but instinct. An outdoor officers information stirs the precious calm gained hardly by British Intelligence agency the Ground (refers to MI6/CIA). There is a double side spy who was inserted at the Ground by Soviet Intelligence chief Carla, and the spy is one of the top four in Ground. Under the mess, Smiley, who has been forced to retire, is asked to prosecute an inquiry. Who is the real one in the back of the plot, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier or Spy? Smiley, whose memory is as good as a computer, enters into a pile of data to search for clues. Finally, he solves the last smart plot set by Carla.

《小鼓女》是勒卡雷出版于1983年的一部间谍小说：以色列间谍头目马丁•库兹为了刺杀巴勒斯坦恐怖分子哈利勒—— 一名长期在欧洲以犹太人为目标、实施爆炸袭击的恐怖分子头目——招募了一位激进的左翼英国女演员查莉。在一系列准备之后，查莉终于融入了巴勒斯坦恐怖组织……
面对虚构的情人和经历，查莉的良心和道德在两个民族之间摇摆不停，根深蒂固的道德观也已被撕扯成碎片。究竟哪一方才是正义的？作为一个脆弱不堪而渴望爱情的双重女间谍，又该如何抉择？
勒卡雷擅长间谍小说，但不少评论家认为这部《小鼓女》已经超越了普通意义上的间谍小说。著名评论家兼作家威廉•F•巴克利在《纽约时报》上评论：“《小鼓女》之于间谍题材，就如同《包法利夫人》之于通奸、《罪与罚》之于犯罪题材一般。”