The theme from a 1983 television series about maybe the most legendary spies the British Secret Service Bureau ever had: Sidney Reilly. The tune consists of parts of The Gadfly from Shostakovich, although he is not credited. The series was just one season, but quite popular. I remember seeing it at the time. Does anybody remember this series?
What was perhaps Reilly’s most celebrated mission was to overthrow the nascent Bolshevik regime in 1918, as published by the journalist Lockhart in 1932. His book was a bestseller, but by that time Reilly himself was already executed by Sovjet agents.
Sidney Reilly and his way with women was a great inspiration for Ian Fleming when he created James Bond.