Wayne Thallon investigates the violent life of South African-born Athol Visser, known as Ivan the Terrible, a mercenary and torture specialist linked to decades of crime and political intrigue. Visser claims to have killed for the first time as a teenager and later moved through the worlds of war, gun-running, drug smuggling, spying and covert operations. His story reaches from southern Africa to Europe and includes allegations surrounding unsolved attacks, extremist networks and the murder of Swedish prime minister Olof Palme. Now seriously ill, Visser looks back on the brutality that defined him and attempts to explain his actions. The book presents a disturbing portrait of a man who turned violence into a profession while examining the shadowy conflicts in which he operated.