Maksym Butchenko traces the development of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence under the pressures of war. He explains how officers prepare covert missions, respond to unexpected threats, and make decisions with little room for error. The book also examines the work of analysts, commanders, intelligence officers, and special forces personnel.

Butchenko draws on exclusive interviews, firsthand testimony, historical research, and documentary sources. Instead of presenting a dry account of military events, he focuses on the people whose work rarely makes the headlines. The book includes a foreword by Kyrylo Budanov, who led Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence when it was first published.