Introduction -- Castro, Oswald, and Kennedy -- The Bay of Pigs -- Mongoose -- Missile crisis -- The brigade -- Fidel and Hidell -- Oswald in New Orleans -- Assassins and spies -- Amlash -- Mexico City -- Hubris -- Carpe diem -- The plot accelerates -- The last weekend -- A barrier once removed -- John Kennedy and the rogue elephant -- Washington, Paris, and Dallas -- November 22, 1963, in Dallas -- November 22, 1963, in other cities -- The days after -- The investigation, what's in a name -- The investigation sputters on -- Regime change -- The Warren Report -- The never ending investigations -- John Kennedy and the CIA -- Lyndon Johnson and the CIA -- Appendix A. Where it might have led -- Appendix B. Richard Helms testimony on the assassination investigation -- Appendix C. Sources and secret files