The author has spent the last two years travelling the world to talk to women involved in terrorism. Often she has faced great personal danger to win the interviews - to gain access to the IRA, for instance, she had to undergo an elaborate screening process before being led blindfold to a secret destination. Yet others, like Keila Khaled, who led the hi-jack of a TWA plane bound for Tel Aviv, now lead a peaceful domestic life. All reflect with astonishing candour on the acts which have made them both famous and reviled. The material she has gathered gives extraordinary insights into the kind of women who become terrorists, and what drives them to such extreme violence. Often beautiful and highly educated, the women who reveal their innermost thoughts on these pages have turned passionate commitment into a kind of ruthless dedication that few of their male counterparts can match.