In The Secret Agent, Conrad reveals for the reader the complex nature of political exile. With powerful psychological insight, Conrad also explores the often confused motives of political terrorists and their misguided acts of violence. Set in London at the beginning of the twentieth century, The Secret Agent centers around Adolf Vurdoc and his two lives: one as a slightly boring husband and family man, the other as a secret agent and political spy. But when Vurdoc involves his wife's unsuspecting brother in a mismanaged terrorist plot -- inspired by an actual attempt to blow up the Greenwich Observatory -- the consequences are tragic for the innocent and guilty alike. The Secret Agent was the premiere work of a now well-established genre dealing with political terrorism. It set the standard for countless novels, films, and television shows dealing with the same gripping sociopolitical issues.