The first book to examine the crucial role played by women in the personal and working life of Michael Collins, who grew up in an overwhelmingly female household in West Cork. Susan Killeen. (his first girlfriend), Sinead Mason (his loyal and intrepid personal secretary), and Madeline (Dilly) Dicker (vivacious, talented, acting as a secret agent) feature in this book. Moya Llewylen Davies and Lady Hazel Lavery are shown to have been conduits between Collins and the British Establishment and participants in his work of espionage. The true romantic passion between Collins and Kitty Kiernan is also illuminated.