The book is a detailed study of how the theft of the world's greatest military secret took place, its participants and the motives behind their actions. The reader is presented with an account of the lives of some of the major players in atomic espionage, based on documentary evidence, mainly their personal testimony in court and interrogations by the FBI. In addition to a detailed account of the events that led to the trial of the Rosenbergs and others, the book contains interesting details about their childhood and youth, personal qualities, relationships with loved ones and colleagues. The narrative plunges into the atmosphere of rabid anti-communism of the early Cold War and is a vivid example of rampant anti-Soviet propaganda, little known in Russia.