As World War Two came to an end, another war began to sweep the globe. But instead of being fought by armies and aircraft carriers, the Cold War was waged by spies.

The Cold War spanned five decades and saw the rise of the CIA and the explosion of the nuclear arms race as the US and USSR become embroiled in a battle of ideologies that threatened the entire globe. Over the course of the war billions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives were devoted to espionage, the art and practice of spying, ensuring that the world would never be the same.

Rife with suspense and intrigue and filled with facts that shine light on both the past and present, this timely work of narrative nonfiction explores the turbulent decades of the Cold War through the lens of the men and women who fought it behind closed doors, and helps explain the role secret and clandestine operations have played in America's history and its national security.