Author(s): Cindy Dobbin, Freda Marnie Nicholls

Australian History

The true story of an undercover ASIO agent who was hung out to dry in the Cold War.

'I have lost everything in coming here. I have lost my friends... I have probably lost my position; I shall probably have to remove my child from the school and my mother from the house in which she lives. I do not think there is anything else I can possibly lose.'

Mercia Masson dressed stylishly and loved to host a party. She was a journalist in an era when there were few female journalists, she always wanted to be in the thick of things, and she knew people in very high places. She also led a dangerous double life.

This is the remarkable story of an ASIO agent who was hung out to dry. She was exposed at a royal commission that was partly intended to undermine public confidence in the ALP and its leader, Doc Evatt.

Written in association with her daughter Cindy, this story brings to life a determined woman at the centre of dramatic events in Australian politics during the Cold War.

'The story of the personal price paid by a woman spying for her country, and the story of a daughter who never knew her mother.' -Sandra Hogan, author of With My Little Eye

'ASIO agent Mercia Masson was let down by the very system she was trying to uphold. This fascinating account takes us into the life and times of "Mrs A", from backroom debriefings to the benches of the Petrov Royal Commission.' -Dr Rhys Crawley, co-author of the Official History of ASIO