An attempt was made to recruit her by the German intelligence service in 1937, but she refused. However, after the Fall of France she offered to work for the Abwehr, with the aim of being sent to England, where she planned to betray the Nazis and – with luck – work for British Intelligence. Her Abwehr case officer, Major Emil Kliemann, trained her in intelligence gathering and communications techniques, and in 1943 sent her to Spain, along with her beloved dog "Babs".[2] Sergueiew promptly contacted the MI5 representative in Madrid and reported herself as a German spy and offered to work for British Intelligence.[4] She was accepted, and travelled to England. However, British quarantine regulations resulted in Babs being left behind at Gibraltar.[5]
Sergueiew was given the code-name "Treasure" and handled by MI5 officer Mary Sherer. "Treasure" turned out to be an effective agent, but was also described as "exceptionally temperamental and troublesome". Suffering from kidney stones and given only six months to live, she threatened to quit unless MI5 arranged for her dog to be brought her. Matters came to a head in February 1944 when "Treasure" learned that Babs (who was living with her sister in Algeria) had been run over.[6]: 146 She informed MI5 that she had a secret signal, which would indicate to Kliemann that she was under British control, and threatened to use it in revenge for the death of her dog.
"Treasure" continued to work for MI5, sending the Germans false information until a week after D-Day, when she was informed that her services were no longer required.[7] She accepted her discharge but warned them they would be unable to keep transmitting as her without her.[6] After a tumultuous meeting with Colonel T. A. Robertson, head of the section responsible for control of the Double Cross agents, she eventually revealed the secret code. However, MI5 continued transmitting messages from her for another five months.[5] Her long messages were re-encrypted by the Abwehr, using the German Enigma machines, and transmitted throughout the Abwehr's network. They provided Bletchley Park with excellent cribs for the cryptanalysis of the Enigma messages.
Sergueiew joined the Free French forces in England; after training, she returned to France as a liaison officer, working with Displaced Persons. Her last posting was to liaise with the US army officer in charge of the Erfurt area, including the infamous Buchenwald camp, Major John Barton ("Bart") Collings. After a year, he proposed to her and they married in Paris in August 1946.
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