A tale of spies, sabotage, and industrial ingenuity, Taylor’s third book starts with a little known incident from June 1940: the explosion at Baltimore’s Crown Cork and Seal factory. Because cork was used in gaskets, bomber insulation, and ammunition, it was essential to the war effort, and rumors circulated about Nazi involvement in the blast. Drawing on interviews with surviving family members, personal collections, and recently declassified government records, Taylor traces the FBI investigation and along the way recreates secret missions to North Africa and the machinations by undercover agents. At the heart of his story are three men who played prominent roles at Crown, in particular the Catalan manager who was perfectly positioned to be a spy.