Christopher Boyce: 1953–
Andrew Daulton Lee: 1952–

Boyhood friends Christopher Boyce and Andrew Daulton Lee shared several things—including a privileged upbringing, involvement with drugs, and discontent with the U.S. government. Together, they spied for Soviet intelligence, for which U.S. officials estimated they received $17,500. Discovered by chance, each turned against the other—and both earned extended prison terms.

Pals in Palos Verdes

Boyce and Lee both grew up in Palos Verdes—one of the wealthiest suburbs in southern California. Lee’s adoptive father was a successful physician; Boyce was the son of an Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent who later took a higher paying job as the security director of McDonnell Douglas Corporation, an airplane manufacturer. The two boys met at a local Catholic church while serving as altar boys and...