Crossing the line: losing your mind as an undercover cop

As he rose through the ranks of various departments of the Metropolitan Police, Christian Plowman dreamt of being an undercover cop. When he finally achieved his ambition, becoming one an elite group of officers, the reality of covert work turned his life into a nightmare.

To catch criminals, Christian bought and sold drugs with taxpayers' money, been beaten up, arrested at gunpoint and barricaded in a pub by a gang of marauding gypsies - all in a day's work. At one stage, he was running almost a dozen mobile phones to keep track of his different identities and had so many aliases that he nearly forgot who he was. He put his life on the line for the job but was to find that being the 'best of the best' wasn't all it was cracked up to be. The pressure became so intense that he even contemplated suicide.

Crossing the Lineis a visceral, gripping account of what it really takes to be an undercover cop. It exposes how the Met conducts its business behind the scenes and reveals the harsh realities of modern covert police work.