First published 2021
Amaryllis Fox joins the CIA at twenty-one and begins analyzing classified communications from global sources for the President's daily briefing. The Agency assigns her to the Iraq counterterrorism center before sending her to the legendary training facility known as "the Farm" at twenty-two, younger than the usual minimum age. For six months she masters Glock pistols, escapes from car trunks while handcuffed, resists torture techniques, and learns suicide methods in case of capture. The intensive program prepares her for fieldwork as a clandestine operational agent. Fox adopts the cover identity of an ethnic art dealer to penetrate terrorist networks across remote regions of the Middle East and Asia. Her story weaves together acts of bravery and deep empathy for humanity. The narrative focuses on the personal and intimate costs of espionage work rather than simply the high-stakes action sequences.
Genres: memoir, non-fiction, 21st-century, espionage
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Asia, Iraq, Middle East
Period: 21st Century
320 pages · Pocket Book · Le Livre de Poche
Content warnings: violence