Set against the background of turn-of-the-century Paris and the collapse of the Belle Epoque in World War I, this book offers a complete portrait of the famous courtesan Mata Hari who launched strip tease dancing, and attempts to answer the riddles surrounding her life story. Given access to Mata Hari's sealed dossier, Howe argues convincingly that Mata Hari was, in fact, a victim of collusion between Germany and France and her prosecution and death sentence was a cover-up for corruption and high-level espionage.