From the murder of Julius Caesar to the raid of Osama bin Laden's compound, Kenneth Baker examines over 100 assassinations and attempts. Assassins hope to change the world, but rarely succeed; Baker suggests that the 1914 assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo was the only one that altered the course of history. Positing that the era of the lone gunman has passed, Baker explores how recent decades have seen a rise in conspiracies, religious terrorists, and state-sponsored killings.