Author’s note

Spies have one particularity: they only talk about themselves once their identity has been revealed. This means that in the dark world of intelligence, there are no doubt many spies out there who have not yet been caught. Whether they are sleeper agents or active moles, they remain hidden away.

The spies who feature in this book, be they heroic or pitiful, patriots or traitors, disinterested or greedy, have been in the media spotlight and have often paid for their secretive work either with their lives, or years of imprisonment. Yet they have rarely revealed their secrets. The object of this new book, based on the revelations of ‘Mr X’, is to clarify this matter.

More broadly, this ‘bouquet’ of spies of all nationalities brings us closer to the reality of contemporary espionage and the existence of these intelligence minions, who have entrusted their fate to those cold monsters of the secret services of powerful nations.

Patrick Pesnot