There are a dozen plots and subplots for espionage thrillers in Gladio, but Francovich's three-part exposé of a CIA-trained terrorist network, code-name Gladio, operating in Europe as a parallel secret service “is all merely true,” to borrow Buñuel's phrase. Gladio originated with the OSS at the close of the war, when “stay behind” agents, mostly German SS, were left throughout Europe under deep cover to be activated in the instance of a Russian takeover in Western Europe. While waiting for the invasion that never came, Gladio played another role over many decades, sniffing out communism internally and working to destabilize democratic governments with campaigns of violence. It is an extraordinary story told by the players themselves, including the Italian senator who headed the parliamentary inquiry into Gladio after its cover was blown in 1990; Gladio's generals in government and foot soldiers of all sorts; a CIA spook who tells all; and a soft-spoken fascist in tweeds who is most forthcoming about his involvement in mass murder, inc.