The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad is a complex narrative set in London in 1886, centering on Adolf Verloc, a secret agent working for an unnamed foreign embassy, likely representing Russia. Verloc leads a double life as a shopkeeper selling dubious items like pornography and contraceptives while also being embedded within a group of anarchists known as The Future of the Proletariat.The story begins with Verloc's mundane family life, where he lives with his wife Winnie, her mother, and her brother Stevie, who has a mental disability. Winnie is deeply protective of Stevie, often treating him more like a son than a sibling.

Verloc's relationships with his anarchist friends—Comrade Ossipon, Michaelis, and The Professor—are marked by their ineffectiveness and ideological fervor, despite their inability to execute successful terrorist acts.Verloc's complacency draws the ire of Mr. Vladimir, the embassy's First Secretary, who demands that Verloc instigate a significant act of terrorism to provoke public outrage against anarchists.