The year is 1905, and residents along the southern coast of England are experiencing a series of tragic events which threaten the serenity of Torquay. The lovely resort city has long been a favorite destination for those individuals seeking a respite from the smoke and noise of many of the industrial cities of England and the “Continent.” Now, however, the townspeople are dealing with a series of brutal crimes, the likes of which they have never seen before! Citizens are living in constant fear. Incidents which have occurred over several months have taken their toll on the collective community psyche, leading to great unrest. What was once an idyllic region has now become a most uncomfortable place in which to live and raise a family. Murder can do that to a community! It is into this dangerous environment that Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson have come. They've been summoned by one of the area's civic leaders who has problems of his own. As they conduct their investigation, they meet a rather unique personality who simply can't keep out of their way. One thing is certain, Torquay will never be the same.

“Ben Macintyre’s rollicking, spellbinding Agent Zigzag blends the spy-versus-spy machinations of John le Carré with the high farce of Evelyn Waugh.”—William Grimes, The New York Times (Editors’ Choice) “Wildly improbable but entirely true . . . [a] compellingly cinematic spy thriller with verve.”—Entertainment Weekly ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Entertainment Weekly ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post Eddie Chapman was a charming criminal, a con man, and a philanderer. He was also one of the most remarkable double agents Britain has ever produced. In 1941, after training as German spy in occupied France, Chapman was parachuted into Britain with a revolver, a wireless, and a cyanide pill, with orders from the Abwehr to blow up an airplane factory. Instead, he contacted M15, the British Secret service, and for the next four years, Chapman worked as a double agent, a lone British spy at the heart of the German Secret Service. Inside the traitor was a man of loyalty; inside the villain was a hero. The problem for Chapman, his spymasters, and his lovers was to know where one persona ended and the other began. Based on recently declassified files, Agent Zigzag tells Chapman’s full story for the first time. It’s a gripping tale of loyalty, love, treachery, espionage, and the thin and shifting line between fidelity and betrayal.