She Walks in Darkness (Un fantasma en la batalla) tells the story of a courageous woman in the Spanish police who goes undercover for 12 years to gather secrets about the the Basque separatist group known as the ETA. Her work led to the eventual dissolution of the ETA.

She Walks in Darkness includes some actual footage from the time, but most of the story concentrates on Amaia (Susana Abaitua), the woman who managed to infiltrate the ETA and become a trusted member for many years.

Amaia left behind everything from her old life, including the man she wanted to marry. When it was all over and her police handler Castro (Andrés Gertrúdix) asked her what she wanted to do next, she said, “Find friends who aren’t like us.”

Amaia applied for a job as a teacher, working under known ETA member Begoña (Iraia Elias). She slowly and carefully gained the confidence of Begoña who eventually invited her to join the cause.

These were dangerous times and dangerous people. Susana Abaitua gave a wonderful performance as the guarded Amaia. She couldn’t reveal any emotion to her new companions. She communicated with the police using music. Certain songs on her CD player or on the radio sent messages.

When an ETA operative was sent to share her apartment and keep an eye on her, she did something really clever with his trash that revealed a lot of information.

Amaia was smart and brave, but the impressive thing about her story was the way she emptied herself of everything that was her, genuinely her, in order to be believable in her new role. She had to be in character every second.

I found the story a little jumbled at times. It used nonlinear time jumps that weren’t always easy to follow. But ultimately it was an inspiring story of one woman’s courage and bravery. It’s streaming on Netflix.