Possibly because she reached maturity in the 1930s when liberal values were so endangered, MacInnes was an implacable foe of political extremists.

In this novel, and in most of her early work, the villains are Nazis, but she also condemns Chinese Communists and those who would give aid and comfort to the Soviet Union. In an interview she said, "I'm against totalitarians in general — national or religious, extremists of the right or left. If I can be labeled anything, I am a Jeffersonian Democrat."

Her villains, even if they permit themselves some doubts, ultimately believe in their own goal, the destruction of freedom. Freedom is protected by American intelligence agents and their allies who never have doubts of the righteousness of their governments and their cause. These well-trained professionals are aided by intelligent amateurs who love their country and its ideals. MacInnes demonstrates her belief...