In recent years a considerable number of "dirty tricks" campaigns, alleged to have been carried out by MI5, have come to light. Reliable information on the truth of these matters is hard to obtain, but Chapman Pincher, with the aid of access to material denied to other journalists, is one of the few people who can come close. Here he examines the new evidence on the Markhov umbrella murder and the plot to assassinate the Pope, considers the lengths that President Bush is prepared to go to in order to keep Gorbachev in power and studies the effect of the opening up of Eastern Europe on the world of espionage.