The story of the melancholy spy

When a devastating injury ended Jack Beaumont's career as a jet fighter pilot, he decided to become a spy, in the French Secret Service.

Jack Beaumont (not his real name) is a former intelligence operative and the author of several spy thrillers.

Jack grew up in a turbulent family in Paris and when he got older he decided to train as a jet fighter pilot with the French Air Force.

During a training dogfight at supersonic speed, Jack suffered a devastating injury that meant he could no longer fly jets, but he still wanted a job steeped in adventure and danger.

So he began piloting covert spy missions, and eventually became a spy with France's secret intelligence service: the DGSE, maintaining up to five secret identities at a time.

While he now lives in a beautiful part of Australia with his wife and family, Jack has struggled to leave behind the extreme hyper vigilance of his early working life.

This conversation discusses family dynamics, adventure, history, global politics, spies, military life and spycraft.