The story of the Special Operations Executive, a creation of World War II. The author served in S.O.E. for almost four years, working with many of the characters whose exploits he recalls. He brings to life some of the men and women who served in the organisation. Here too are some of the disasters and triumphs of the war: the capture of the commander of the German garrison on Crete, the destruction of the heavy water plant in Norway, the raising of a guerrilla army of Karens in the Burma hills, and the tragedy of the Warsaw rising.