Who is Tony Gannon?

The military coup that toppled Chilean president Salvador Allende in 1973 serves as the backdrop for the fictional adventures of a rookie CIA officer. The story accurately details CIA recruiting, training and operations while reimagining actual events. Having just graduated from Yale, an engineering degree and ability to speak Spanish lands the young man in the capital of Chile just weeks before the violent revolution. His experiences cause him to wrestle with ethical questions involving America's clandestine role in the destabilization of the socialist Chilean government. When a kindly flower merchant and his wife are captured by military forces during the attack on the presidential palace, the young officer must make a difficult decision that could change all their lives forever.

The historical narrative is based on accounts made public during the Senate hearings that followed the coup, as well as on other authoritative reports published since then. While Sobel's goal was to create an entertaining and enjoyable story, and he did take generous license to re-imagine some events, the book does include more than a little honest-to-goodness history, touching on national security issues still being debated today.