First Action Bureau

In 2068, information is a weapon. First Action Bureau uses artificial intelligence and vast amounts of data to identify threats before they become crimes. Its agents act in the shadows, trusting the organisation to tell them who needs to be stopped. But what happens when an agent can no longer trust her own memories?

Nero Jones is brilliant, dangerous and increasingly troubled by dreams and headaches she cannot explain. As her assignments become stranger, her certainty about the Bureau begins to fracture. The question running through her story is simple: if nothing is true, who can you believe?

First Action Bureau was created by Jamie Anderson and Nicholas Briggs. It is an original Anderson Entertainment production, rather than an adaptation of an unmade Gerry Anderson project. Its secret organisation, futuristic technology and resourceful central characters connect it to the wider Anderson tradition, while its psychological tension and contemporary anxieties give it an identity of its own.

The original audio drama debuted online in 2020 as ten episodes. Genevieve Gaunt plays Nero Jones alongside a cast including Sacha Dhawan, Paterson Joseph, Nicola Walker, Wayne Forester and Richard James. Their performances bring a world of competing loyalties and uncertain identities to life without requiring any knowledge of another Anderson series.

The original series is the clearest introduction to Nero and the Bureau. Follow the episodes in order: this is one unfolding story, and its surprises work best when you discover them with Nero.

Listen to the original series free on the official Gerry Anderson YouTube channel, or begin with episode one on the series podcast site. For a single continuous edition, explore the Series One digital download.

Start at the beginning and listen in sequence. Each link opens that episode on the official podcast site, where you can play it free.

1. First Action
2. Dreamliner
3. Arrivals
4. Poisoned Mind
5. It's What I Do...
6. Feelings
7. Parks & Relaxation
8. Compromised
9. From Earth to the Moon
10. The Truth Hurts

• Nero Jones: Genevieve Gaunt
• Benjamin Saal: Sacha Dhawan
• Zero One: Paterson Joseph
• Charlize Wilkin: Nicola Walker
• Eddie Hunter: Wayne Forester
• Angus Reed: Richard James

Hear the cast introduce First Action Bureau.

Richard James's prequel novel Damaged Goods explores how Nero became part of First Action Bureau. It follows her recruitment, training and early missions, adding personal history to the agent encountered in the audio series. Family secrets and the difficulty of trusting other people become as important as the threats she has been sent to confront.

You can experience the story as a hardback novel or as a digital audiobook narrated by Genevieve Gaunt. It is a prequel, so it offers another starting point; listening to the original series first lets you return to Nero's past with a different perspective.

If the secrecy of SHADO or the moral uncertainty of a Spectrum mission appeals to you, First Action Bureau offers a contemporary companion. The danger is not only the technology outside the agent's control, but the possibility that her own experience has been manipulated.

This is a darker spy thriller with psychological tension, rather than a gentle children's adventure. For more about its themes, read our feature, Nothing is True: Breaking into First Action Bureau.