Six women who were manipulated into sexual relationships by undercover police, and who had no idea they were targeted as part of an elaborate state-sponsored spy ring that intruded into the most intimate part of their lives, tell their side of the story in their first book.
Groomed. Gaslighted. Ghosted.
These six motivated, articulate and independent women each thought they'd met the love of their life - a true soulmate who shared their values, ambitions and goals. But after two happy years, their partners started to behave strangely, and appeared to be having a nervous breakdown. Then they vanished, leaving a note explaining that they'd gone abroad to sort themselves out. 'It's not you. It's me.'
These women were left confused and traumatised, unable to move on, even going on long fruitless searches in distant countries.
As they later discovered, they had all been in a serious relationship with a man who technically didn't exist. These men were married police officers. One of them, Mark Cassidy, even had a baby with his wife during his 'relationship' with Alison. He and Alison were living together. They went to counselling together. She wanted children. He didn't.
The undercover officers took elaborate measures to develop their fake personas. They stole the identities of dead children. They were issued with fake passports and driving licences
As the operation unravelled in recent years, these women found each other and chilling overlaps in their experiences came to light. The police officers had been working from a set of guidelines, and were using the same techniques to manipulate their cover-story girlfriends.
This is the story of six women, whose lives were stolen by state-sponsored spies, but who came together, fought for the truth, took legal action against the police and won.
