Holden Carver was a reluctant double agent even before circumstances left him without hope of rescue. Tai - the criminal mastermind whose organisation he's infiltrated - had Carver's only lifeline, spymaster John Lynch, shot by an old ally, leaving him in a coma. Tao's cut off every chance for escape, and he's persuaded Carver to join up... for real this time. Holden still believes there's a better way. He may never be the government's golden boy again, but he's determined to keep his tarnished soul intact...

Sleeper: Season Two collects together issues #1 to 12 of the Sleeper: Volume 2 comic book series. This is not the place to start reading this series, as it's very unlikely that you'll be able to grasp what's going on fully. You're better off picking up Season One, or even starting at Point Blank.

It’s the final Sleeper collection. While spymaster John Lynch slept in a coma, his protégé Holden Carver was trapped undercover. Now that his star has risen in criminal mastermind Tao’s organization, Carver is shocked by the news that Lynch is awake. Torn between new loyalties and his original mission, Carver must decide whose side he’s really on - and if they’re on his.

What little was left of Holden Carver's life has been torn apart. On the run from his former colleagues in International Operations, on the run from his 'friends' in Tao's organisation, he's a man with his back to the wall. But when John Lynch, the only man who knows Holden's true nature, offers him one last job - with the ultimate payoff - can Holden afford to refuse?

Writer Ed Brubaker builds this collection nicely to its conclusion, while artist Sean Phillips fleshes out the narrative with some incredible illustrations - there's something hauntingly beautiful about the segment where Veronica St. James prepares for her assignment by ruthlessly killing innocent, and not so innocent, individuals who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A fitting conclusion to the series, and certainly a collection you'll want to read more than once.

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Nick Smithson