Mac Maharaj played a pivotal role in the liberation movement for nearly four decades, suffering brutal tortures and twelve years’ imprisonment on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela. It was Maharaj who smuggled out the manuscript of Mandela’s autobiography and later re-entered South Africa to establish a political and military underground on a mission so secret that only those at the highest levels were even aware of its existence.

Drawing from extensive interviews with Maharaj over eleven years and hitherto unavailable documents, Padraig O’Malley vividly renders a true tale of heroism and a gripping insider’s look at the struggle for freedom in South Africa.