Sydney Reilly links espionage to naval industrial intelligence

The book presents Sydney Reilly as a linguistically gifted but deeply unreliable operator whose legends are hard to separate from evidence. His naval relevance includes access to German shipbuilders, from which plans and specifications passed to British intelligence before the First World War. The narrative then follows arms purchasing, missions behind German lines, and conspiracies against the Bolshevik government. The review finds the account engaging while preserving the central uncertainty about Reilly's loyalties, claims, arrest, and death.