From deep inside Moscow's infamous "Center," the Soviet Union directed an espionage operation of unprecedented size and scope. Its crown jewel was "Werther," a man who over the years preceding the war had wormed his way into Hitler's innermost circle. He became the most devastating traitor to Nazi Germany and perhaps in all of history. Maria Poliakova was a beautiful, young, Russian-Jewish spymaster with a penchant for danger. Werther was Maria's agent. Together, they changed history. For most of the Second World War, Soviet intelligence activities against Nazi Germany were so sophisticated that even Hitler, with all his power, could not detect them. Werther was so highly placed in the Nazi hierarchy that he was able to provide the Russians with strategic and tactical intelligence that directly influenced the outcome of such key Soviet victories as Stalingrad and Kursk-Orel. The evidence of the treachery is indisputable. There is no doubt that Werther existed. But who was he? It took all of the investigative skills developed over decades for Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Louis Kilzer to discover the amazing truth behind the fall of the Third Reich. - Jacket flap.