Josh Ireland

So he has to assume a different personality.

He emerges in the Ritz bar in the summer of 1938 where Sylvia is with one of her friends who is an NKVD agent and has been persuaded to bring her to this bar for a chance meeting

with this man who approaches them, who introduces himself as Jacques Mornard.

And he's this Belgian.

He presents himself as being not the committed fanatical communist that he is, but as a sort of feckless Belgian playboy, a sports reporter who has no interest in politics, who just likes girls and fast cars and nice suits.

And Sylvia's, you know, she's well-travelled, she's an intellectual, but she's, I think, quite naive, has led, in a weird way, quite a sheltered existence.

And she's sort of swept away by this figure.

And so swept away that, you know, no matter how many times there are sort of funny little hints that something strange is afoot.

she never really questions it.

And even as they get closer and closer to Trotsky, so they moved to Mexico where Jacques claims to be working for an import-export business.

The oldest trick in the book, like the most suspicious job you could ever have.

Well, but yeah, being a journalist to import-export two absolutely indefinable jobs.

They move to Mexico City where Trotsky already is.

And Sylvia, completely unaware of what is happening, makes contact with the Trotskyists out there because she knows them.

Yeah, I know the Trotskyists.

They think fondly of her.

Yeah.

And so she begins to visit the compound.

And what Raman does, which is very, very clever, is he doesn't force himself on the Trotsky's.

He doesn't seem too keen or too interested.