This work investigates the origins, ideological evolution, and eventual decline of the Montoneros, the primary urban guerrilla organization within the Argentine Peronist movement. Richard Gillespie, a political scientist with academic credentials from Oxford and Warwick, utilizes extensive primary research conducted during his residency in Argentina during the mid-1970s. The text provides a rigorous historical framework to explain how a radicalized faction of the Peronist youth attempted to reshape the nation's political landscape through armed struggle and clandestine operations.

Scholars and historians frequently cite this text as a foundational academic resource for understanding the complexities of the Argentine Dirty War. Readers often note the dense, scholarly nature of the prose, which prioritizes historical accuracy and political analysis over narrative dramatization.