Throughout the world Philadelphia is known as the cradle of American democracy. Benjamin Franklin, author, scientist, inventor, diplomat and signer of the Declaration of Independence is an iconic figure of the city. Less well-known is Philadelphia's role in the creation of a secret intelligence network that would underpin and protect the new Nation and the resulting war. Philadelphia's "secret history" that began more than two and a half centuries ago is now collected for the first time in this account of spies and their operational sites in the city. SPY SITES of PHILADELPHIA will open a window into the secret lives of men and women, many seemingly ordinary citizens, who were drawn into the world of espionage. As we explore the streets of Philadelphia through their eyes, we begin to understand that "all is not what it seems."