A Secret Life is a spy-thriller based on the life of Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski, a high-ranking Polish officer who conducted a covert mission for the CIA during the Cold War of the 1970s. This true story examines the journey of how Colonel Kuklinski betrayed his command in order to save his country. In 1972, Kuklinski informed the USA that Russia was making plans to attack Western Europe and provoke a nuclear war, aiding the West in averting that disaster. Kuklinski’s story is considered to be one of the CIA’s greatest success stories. Bob Woodward of the Washington Post calls Kuklinski’s story “the epic spy story of the cold war.”