Valerie Plame Wilson is the woman at the centre of the scandal that, ultimately, led to the downfall, prosecution and conviction of the former White House chief of staff, Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, for revealing her identity as a CIA spy.

During the run-up to the Iraq War, George Bush and Tony Blair tried to bolster their case for invasion by claiming that Saddam Hussein was trying to procure weapons-grade uranium from Africa. The claim was highly dubious, and when Plame's husband Joseph Wilson, a former US ambassador, was sent to investigate, he quickly concluded it was false. Wilson's findings were not passed up the CIA, prompting him to write an article in the New York Timessaying Saddam had not tried to buy any uranium. As this made life awkward for the White House, a counter-attack began, with a rebuttal rubbishing Wilson's article and in the process revealing Valerie Plame's identity as a covert CIA operative -- a revelation that proved illegal, with Lewis Libby being held ultimately responsible.

Now, for the first time, Valerie Plame Wilson breaks her silence to tell her side of this extraordinary story, and her life as a spy. Candid and gripping, it sheds astonishing light on a world that is supposed to remain hidden.