John Pomfret will draw from his recent book From Warsaw with Love to tell us the remarkable story of how Polish intelligence officers forged an alliance with the CIA in the twilight of the Cold War during an intelligence crisis.

As the United States cobbles together a coalition to undo Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, six US officers are trapped in Iraq with intelligence that could ruin Operation Desert Storm if it is obtained by the Iraqi dictator. Desperate, the CIA asks Poland, a longtime Cold War foe famed for its excellent spies, for help.

In the tradition of the most memorable works on espionage, Pomfret’s book tells a disquieting tale of moral ambiguity in which right and wrong, black and white, are not conveniently distinguishable. As the United States teeters on the edge of a new cold war with Russia and China, Pomfret explores how these little-known events serve as a reminder of the importance of alliances in a dangerous world.