Synopsis
Shortly after Army lawyer Sean Drummond starts working for the Office of Special Projects, a CIA cell which handles the most dangerous threats, the White House Chief of Staff is found brutally murdered. A note left by the killer promises more victims - including the President. Teaming up with a beautiful colleague to try to stop the assassin, Sean begins the investigation. The killer is stalking the campaign trail, apparently driven by a $500 million bounty on the President's head. When a dramatic hostage rescue culminates in an intense shootout, Sean realizes law enforcement's horrible miscalculation and what to do about it.
Publishers Weekly
Plenty of believable action plus heavy doses of insider atmosphere add zest to Haig's fifth suspense thriller to feature army lawyer Sean Drummond (after 2003's Private Sector). It might be nothing like the real White House or even TV's The West Wing, but the center of American power as envisioned by Haig is a potent myth, a modern-day Arthurian Round Table serving as a source of lessons and high drama. Now part of the CIA's Office of Special Projects, Drummond is assigned to protect the president against the enemies who threaten his life. The novel opens on a powerful note with the discovery in a posh suburban Virginia house of six bullet-ridden bodies, including that of the White House chief of staff. Could there be a connection between this massacre and the $100 million bounty someone has put on the head of the U.S. president? Helped by attractive, no-nonsense FBI agent Jennifer Margold, the wise-cracking Drummond first goes after a rogue member of the White House security detail, but things are not what they seem. After some serious shooting and explosions, Drummond and Margold are still only a day away from the likely murder of the president. Haig makes us care what happens by avoiding genre clich s whenever possible and by creating much sympathy for the relatives left behind in the carnage. Agent, Luke Janklow at Janklow & Nesbit. (Feb. 23) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.