Based on interviews with mercenaries of many nationalities, this text investigates the shadowy world of soldiers of fortune. It reveals how white mercenaries came to play a key role in the struggle for the Congo and how the end of the war in Vietnam coincided with the start of the war in Rhodesia, attracting a new generation of freelance soldiers. It covers the Angolan debacle of 1976 and a succession of other operations, revealing for the first time details of an attempted coup in Malta. The role played by mercenaries in war-torn Yugoslavia is also covered due to the author's first-hand experience of the conflict as a photojournalist.