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In Britain, two people played a vital role. Leonida Krushelnycky has proved to be an indefatigable researcher, often uncovering vital material long after I had given up any hope of finding it. But for her efforts, the book would have been considerably poorer. Vesna Vucenovic ensured that the administration of this project was as painless as one could hope.

On my travels, I had the fortune to encounter two journalists whose patience and cheerfulness matched their professionalism and skill which were of the highest order. Kai Laufen helped me understand the complexities of German justice. But his contribution was still greater because of the contacts he helped me make and the hospitality he offered. Equally, I would have been completely lost in Istanbul, and Turkey, were it not for Sebnem Arsu. Tenacious, unfailingly polite and able to conjure up a solution when all appeared lost, I owe her a considerable debt.

From the various police forces around the world who have discussed DarkMarket with me, I must highlight Agent Keith J. Mularski of the FBI, Inspector Bilal Sen of the Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Department of the Turkish Police, and Detective Sergeant Chris Dawson of the Humberside police. All three have given up much of their valuable time to talk to me in the most illuminating fashion and were always happy to clarify anything I had not fully grasped. I would also like to thank the officers from the Serious Organised Crime Agency in London and Christian Aghroum, formerly of OCLCTIC in Paris.

From a rather different perspective, RioRita in Ukraine was a mine of information about CarderPlanet and beyond – my special thanks to him. I learned as much about the nuts and bolts of cyber crime from RedBrigade, I owe him a great deal for his friendliness and good-natured response to my countless requests for information and analysis.

Matrix001 and JiLsi were always willing to share their knowledge about the details of DarkMarket and their assessment of specific events. In Pittsburgh, I found Max Vision to be a brilliant and helpful interlocutor. All three have my sincere thanks.

Çagatay Evyapan and Mert Ortaç were two of the most interesting personalities I have met in the past three years even if they don’t see eye to eye themselves. I would like to convey my gratitude to both of them despite the difficulty of their current situations.

In Estonia, Madis Tüür was an exemplary guide to the politics and history of the country, not to mention an ever entertaining host.

Thanks also to Brooks Decillia from CBC in Calgary for his selfless research. Likewise, Daniel Goldberg and Linus Larsson came to my rescue in Stockholm.

Two people have helped me in the background with technical issues. In Helsinki, Mikko Hyppönen, Chief Research Officer of F-Secure and Vicente Diaz of Kaspersky Labs in Barcelona were always available to help me get my head round things I simply could not understand. I also received much wise advice regarding more general cyber security issues from Rex Hughes at Wolfson College, Cambridge.

I also want to thank the following people who helped me in a variety of different ways: Allison Culliford, Luke Dembosky, Sophie Devonshire, Joris Evers, Detective Spencer Frizzell, Tamara Glenny, Camino Kavanagh, Suat Kiniklioglu, Dirk Kolberg, Darryl Leaning, Melissa Llewelyn-Davies, Jane McClellan Q.C., Mark Medish, Steve Milner, Jaan Prisaalu, Colin Robinson, Anya Stiglitz and Eneken Tikk.

My agents and publishers have been unstinting in their support. Clare Conville in London is as good an agent as one can imagine, backed by a wonderful team. Michael Carlisle provides an equally dynamic service in New York. I am fortunate to have a trio of editors, Will Sulkin at The Bodley Head, Dan Frank at Knopf and Sarah MacLachlan at Anansi Press, who have both made the writing experience more manageable while greatly enhancing the final product. If errors have crept in, I, naturally, bear full responsibility for them. I would also like to thank two others who have had a