This historical and organizational study focuses on Leon Trotsky's efforts to create a military intelligence operation of global significance and his subsequent efforts in the 4th International to recreate an earlier success. New material from Mexican sources is delineated and the various assassination plots against him in the late 30's are unraveled. Obscure aspects of the affair such as Trotsky's attempt to obtain an American visa and the makeup of his (mostly North American) bodyguard are discussed in satisfying detail.