come in from the cold

verb2

1. •
   Of a spy: to return home after having gone undercover in enemy territory.

   • I mean … one can't be out in the cold all the time; one has to come in from the cold … do you see what I mean? — 1963
2. •
   (figurative) To gain widespread acceptance in a group or society, especially where there was not any before.

   • Long an outsider in Western politics, Portugal came in from the cold after the 1974 Carnation Revolution.