Combining his own experiences as an officer with documentary research at the National Archives, Kloman looks at the role of the Office of Strategic Services in World War II North Africa, Southern France, and Italy. Kloman explores the disparate backgrounds of those who volunteered to serve in the organization the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency as well as problems that arose in relations between its operational branches, interactions between the OSS and its British counterpart, and difficulties the OSS encountered in earning acceptance by US military commands. His narrative weaves accounts of behind-the-lines operations with broad views of the military campaigns they supported. An epilogue surveys developments in the intelligence field in the decades since.