Rogue Agent

The startling adventures of a secret agent in Moscow during World War I and the Russian Revolution, this is the story of "the riveting life of maverick spy” Robert Bruce Lockhart.

Diplomat, conspirator, intelligence gatherer, propagandist, and charmer, Rogue Agent tells the colorful story of London’s key agent in Moscow during the first half of the twentieth century, Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart.

Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart (1887–1970) was an impressive figure who played a vital role in both world wars. He was a man who charmed his way into the confidences of everyone from Leon Trotsky to Anthony Eden. A man whom the influential press baron Lord Beaverbrook claimed, "could well have been prime minister.” And yet Lockhart died almost forgotten and near destitute, a Scottish footnote in the pages of history.

Rogue Agent is the first biography of this gifted yet habitually flawed maverick. It chronicles his many exploits, from his time as Britain’s agent in Moscow and his role in a plot to bring down the communist regime to his leadership in the Political Warfare Executive—a secret body responsible for disinformation and propaganda during World War II.

Exploring Lockhart’s unorthodox thinking and contributions to the development of psychological warfare, as well as his hedonistic lifestyle, late nights, and many affairs that left him in a state of perpetual debt and emotional turmoil, Rogue Agent presents the thrilling and dramatic tale of this unconventional war hero.