SOE's Belgian and Dutch operations in the Second World War have always been considered highly controversial because of the notorious Englandspiel ('the English game') run by the Germans, which effectively took control of the entire resistance organisation in Holland. Skilfully manipulated by Colonel Hermann Giskes, the occupying force arrested dozens of Dutch agents and operated their wireless sets with sufficient finesse to persuade SOE's headquarters in London that their networks were operating without interference. In reality, each consignment of agents and equipment fell directly into the hands of the Nazis. Was there a traitor in London? Was it incompetence in the field or hopelessly inadequate security procedures? The Belgian experience, equally complicated, was for a time almost as disastrous as the Dutch. Opinions have differed, but here the official records are opened for independent scrutiny by an acknowledged specialist in SOE's operations. The story that emerges is a harrowing catalogue of Whitehall jealousies and infighting, blunders and ineptitude, combined with breathtaking bravery on the part of the agents who were captured.

The imbalance of Pakistan's civil-military relations has caused misperceptions about the changing role of intelligence in politics. The country maintains 32 secret agencies working under different democratic, political and military stakeholders who use them for their own interests. Established in 1948, The ISI was tasked with acquiring intelligence of strategic interests and assessing the intensity of foreign threats, but political and military stakeholders used the agency adversely and painted a consternating picture of its working environment. The civilian intelligence agency-Intelligence Bureau (IB) has been gradually neglected due to the consecutive military rule and weak democratic governments. The ISI today seems the most powerful agency and controls the policy decisions. The working of various intelligence agencies, militarisation of intelligence and ineffectiveness of the civilian intelligence are some of the issues discussed in the book.