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This tale is set in a village due east of the Appalachian mountain chain, just below Sugarloaf or Lookout Mountain some forty odd miles from the Capital. The village consists of village houses found throughout the region that abut the town’s main street. The village represents the innocence of those who inhabit such places. Geographically, the locale borders along the historic C and O canal. Nestled in the foothills, the surrounding farms tilled since colonial times prove to be a threat to the well being of the community. All of the actions take place within the boundaries of this novel occur in the surrounding countryside. Some of the farm houses served from time to time as headquarters for Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne and J.E.B. Stuart. The first murder victim is discovered by the village priest in the fall. The information surrounding this incident in the chapters that follow is presented to focus on sets of actions that appear small or insignificant to the most discerning observer. These actions serve as rhythmical transitions to actions taking place in a rural setting; a microcosm to those with international far-reaching repercussions. These chapters are shaped to ply the reader with information surrounding the murders, but only in the most cursory manner. What these chapters mask is the description of a way of living. They contain descriptions of or are concerned with sensibilities of the inhabitants living the countryside as did their grandfathers during other times of war. The setting is used as a tranquil backdrop for the unexpected. Periodically disrupted by weather, the seasonal planting and harvesting is really the only productive activity that takes place. This idyllic landscape of rolling farmland that stretches westward beyond to the Blue Ridge is used as a backdrop to a series of horrifying events that shake the very core of the encroaching hunt county society. With this particular series of unexplained murders, the possibility of scandal again looms upon the village as it had a century before during other years of war. The central character is a portrayed as a catalyst who is first to recognize the coming changes to the rural way of life and who then must not accept, but also effectively deal with all of the problems the newly riche bring with them. Despite the fact that the protagonist Margaret Longleaf is the village mayor, she is never privy to critical information. She must work through the information she is given in order to reach a reasonable conclusion. These sets of conclusion are never forced upon the reader. The reader must make the final determination.

This tale is set in a village due east of the Appalachian mountain chain, just below Sugarloaf or Lookout Mountain some forty odd miles from the Capital. The village consists of village houses found throughout the region that abut the town’s main street. The village represents the innocence of those who inhabit such places. Geographically, the locale borders along the historic C and O canal. Nestled in the foothills, the surrounding farms tilled since colonial times prove to be a threat to the well being of the community. All of the actions take place within the boundaries of this novel occur in the surrounding countryside. Some of the farm houses served from time to time as headquarters for Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne and J.E.B. Stuart. The first murder victim is discovered by the village priest in the fall. The information surrounding this incident in the chapters that follow is presented to focus on sets of actions that appear small or insignificant to the most discerning observer. These actions serve as rhythmical transitions to actions taking place in a rural setting; a microcosm to those with international far-reaching repercussions. These chapters are shaped to ply the reader with information surrounding the murders, but only in the most cursory manner. What these chapters mask is the description of a way of living. They contain descriptions of or are concerned with sensibilities of the inhabitants living the countryside as did their grandfathers during other times of war. The setting is used as a tranquil backdrop for the unexpected. Periodically disrupted by weather, the seasonal planting and harvesting is really the only productive activity that takes place. This idyllic landscape of rolling farmland that stretches westward beyond to the Blue Ridge is used as a backdrop to a series of horrifying events that shake the very core of the encroaching hunt county society. With this particular series of unexplained murders, the possibility of scandal again looms upon the village as it had a century before during other years of war. The central character is a portrayed as a catalyst who is first to recognize the coming changes to the rural way of life and who then must not accept, but also effectively deal with all of the problems the newly riche bring with them. Despite the fact that the protagonist Margaret Longleaf is the village mayor, she is never privy to critical information. She must work through the information she is given in order to reach a reasonable conclusion. These sets of conclusion are never forced upon the reader. The reader must make the final determination.

Colonel Mironov was a high level officer of the KGB when the Soviet Union was at the height of power.  Now that he’s out of a job, all he wants is to return his beloved Communist Party to power in Moscow.  He is a major player within the Party but how does he get the job done?  Get the Americans to do it for him.

The plan is simple but brutally effective: Discredit the current Democratic system to create a power vacuum and allow the Communist Party leader to step in to mop up the mess.  It can all work, and Mironov himself holds the key, Valeria Konstantinova, a former operative under his control.  The knowledge she holds of the men in power could bring the Kremlin to its knees.  Her mere presence on the floor of Parliament would be devastating to the Russian President, but for one problem.  Those same men have locked up Valeria and her secrets in a high-security prison in the middle of the eastern Russian frontier.

To get her out, Mironov turns to the American Intelligence community.  In exchange for all he can tell about the Communist Party interior, he asks for the release of Valeria, his closest comrade.  She is busted out of prison by the CIA, but her safe return to the United States falls to the hands of one man, Joshua McGowan.

Josh is a former Special Forces soldier and now an agent for a narrow branch of Navy Intelligence run by Rear Admiral Katherine Filmore.  His attitude nearly got him kicked out of the Navy.  His methods on covert missions left a swath of dead bodies cut through the forces of his enemies.

To get Valeria out of Russia, Josh must fly from Baltimore to a carrier waiting in the Pacific aboard a fuel-heavy Navy F-14, hopscotching halfway around the world from military airbases to carriers at sea.  The journey itself nearly costs Josh his life and when he finally arrives in Russian waters north of Japan he finds a derelict stolen sailboat.  Aboard the sailboat is a dead CIA agent, a man who was Josh’s friend, and a beautiful young woman.  When he sees Valeria for the first time, Josh can’t believe that this innocent looking child could have been a KGB tool for manipulating high ranking officials in the Kremlin.

Mironov’s people are also looking for her.  Josh finds himself stranded in the middle of the Sea of Othosk in a liferaft with Valeria when a Communist warship destroys the sailboat.  Josh and Valeria are rescued by a Japanese fisherman, then must elude the Japanese Federal Police until they can get safely to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

Valeria, however, has other plans.  Now that she is free of the Russian prison, the last thing she wants is to be interrogated by the Americans.  Josh has started to fall in love with her, despite his contempt for her arrogance.  Valeria uses his feelings for her to betray him.  As they are attempting to evade the Japanese police in northern Japan, she knocks him unconcious and flees, leaving Josh in the hands of the police.  She arranges a meeting with her lover, the brother of the head of one of the most powerful mafia families in Moscow.  Josh manages to track her down to a park in Tokyo, only to have her taken from his hands by Mironov’s men.  Josh must then turn to her lover for the information he needs.

Before he can do that, he must make a side trip into the Syrian desert of western Iraq.  The Communists have sold a shipment of Dr. Jones’ plastic explosives to an Iraqi terrorist group, and the explosives are stockpiled in a training camp.  The Israelis want it eliminated before it can be used against them.  Josh and his assault team, together with Israeli Mossad agents, raid the camp to take out the explosives, but not without the cost of a good friend’s life.  Part of the shipment, however, is missing, and is assumed to have been taken by Ismail Rafjani, a Pakistani terrorist long sought by the Mossad.

Josh is then off to Moscow, where he arranges to meet with Valeria’s lover.  Josh is given the information he needs: the whereabouts of Dr. Otto Jones, and a Communist officer’s uniform to help him sneak in.  Josh finds Valeria and Dr. Jones.  His intention is to arrest Jones and take him back to stand trial, but Valeria kills the doctor to prevent him from hindering her own escape.

Mironov is not ready to let Valeria get away before he has a chance to use her, and orders his elite soldiers to kill Josh.  To get away, Josh rigs a makeshift fuse to set off a warehouse full of tons of plastic explosives, which blows a Moscow trainyard into the sky.

With Valeria, Mironov’s plan is nearly complete.  He has set in motion the events that will culminate in the most spectacular achievement in the history of Russia: the re-emergence of the Soviet Union like a phoenix from the ashes of the Democratic Republic.

The last step of the plan is simple.  He will make his case on the floor of Parliament and demand a vote.  Valeria will be his proof that the Russian Democracy experiment is weak and a failure.  He only needs to convince the members of Parliament to vote out the Democratic leaders, which will leave a political vacuum.  Into that vacuum will step the new Communist leader like a hero of the people, and the transition will be complete.

Mironov does not, however, count on Josh.

Josh is able to deduce Mironov’s plan.  He arrives at the Kremlin in the morning, ready to kill Valeria to prevent Mironov from carrying out his plan.  Josh sees Valeria first and must force aside his feelings as he draws his pistol for what he knows he must do.  Mironov appears and confronts Josh in the antechamber of the Parliament building.  Valeria gets away and runs to the basements of the Kremlin.  Josh goes after her, followed by Mironov, who makes one tiny mistake.  Josh executes him in the basement of the very building from which he himself wished to rule.

Josh’s orders are to return the girl for questioning, but Josh knows that is not the right thing to do.  He defies his orders to return her to her lover, and by doing so costs himself his career.  His future is left up in the air while Ismail Rafjani begins his career of killing and destruction with the stolen plastic explosives.

Colonel Mironov was a high level officer of the KGB when the Soviet Union was at the height of power.  Now that he’s out of a job, all he wants is to return his beloved Communist Party to power in Moscow.  He is a major player within the Party but how does he get the job done?  Get the Americans to do it for him.

The plan is simple but brutally effective: Discredit the current Democratic system to create a power vacuum and allow the Communist Party leader to step in to mop up the mess.  It can all work, and Mironov himself holds the key, Valeria Konstantinova, a former operative under his control.  The knowledge she holds of the men in power could bring the Kremlin to its knees.  Her mere presence on the floor of Parliament would be devastating to the Russian President, but for one problem.  Those same men have locked up Valeria and her secrets in a high-security prison in the middle of the eastern Russian frontier.

To get her out, Mironov turns to the American Intelligence community.  In exchange for all he can tell about the Communist Party interior, he asks for the release of Valeria, his closest comrade.  She is busted out of prison by the CIA, but her safe return to the United States falls to the hands of one man, Joshua McGowan.

Josh is a former Special Forces soldier and now an agent for a narrow branch of Navy Intelligence run by Rear Admiral Katherine Filmore.  His attitude nearly got him kicked out of the Navy.  His methods on covert missions left a swath of dead bodies cut through the forces of his enemies.

To get Valeria out of Russia, Josh must fly from Baltimore to a carrier waiting in the Pacific aboard a fuel-heavy Navy F-14, hopscotching halfway around the world from military airbases to carriers at sea.  The journey itself nearly costs Josh his life and when he finally arrives in Russian waters north of Japan he finds a derelict stolen sailboat.  Aboard the sailboat is a dead CIA agent, a man who was Josh’s friend, and a beautiful young woman.  When he sees Valeria for the first time, Josh can’t believe that this innocent looking child could have been a KGB tool for manipulating high ranking officials in the Kremlin.

Mironov’s people are also looking for her.  Josh finds himself stranded in the middle of the Sea of Othosk in a liferaft with Valeria when a Communist warship destroys the sailboat.  Josh and Valeria are rescued by a Japanese fisherman, then must elude the Japanese Federal Police until they can get safely to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

Valeria, however, has other plans.  Now that she is free of the Russian prison, the last thing she wants is to be interrogated by the Americans.  Josh has started to fall in love with her, despite his contempt for her arrogance.  Valeria uses his feelings for her to betray him.  As they are attempting to evade the Japanese police in northern Japan, she knocks him unconcious and flees, leaving Josh in the hands of the police.  She arranges a meeting with her lover, the brother of the head of one of the most powerful mafia families in Moscow.  Josh manages to track her down to a park in Tokyo, only to have her taken from his hands by Mironov’s men.  Josh must then turn to her lover for the information he needs.

Before he can do that, he must make a side trip into the Syrian desert of western Iraq.  The Communists have sold a shipment of Dr. Jones’ plastic explosives to an Iraqi terrorist group, and the explosives are stockpiled in a training camp.  The Israelis want it eliminated before it can be used against them.  Josh and his assault team, together with Israeli Mossad agents, raid the camp to take out the explosives, but not without the cost of a good friend’s life.  Part of the shipment, however, is missing, and is assumed to have been taken by Ismail Rafjani, a Pakistani terrorist long sought by the Mossad.

Josh is then off to Moscow, where he arranges to meet with Valeria’s lover.  Josh is given the information he needs: the whereabouts of Dr. Otto Jones, and a Communist officer’s uniform to help him sneak in.  Josh finds Valeria and Dr. Jones.  His intention is to arrest Jones and take him back to stand trial, but Valeria kills the doctor to prevent him from hindering her own escape.

Mironov is not ready to let Valeria get away before he has a chance to use her, and orders his elite soldiers to kill Josh.  To get away, Josh rigs a makeshift fuse to set off a warehouse full of tons of plastic explosives, which blows a Moscow trainyard into the sky.

With Valeria, Mironov’s plan is nearly complete.  He has set in motion the events that will culminate in the most spectacular achievement in the history of Russia: the re-emergence of the Soviet Union like a phoenix from the ashes of the Democratic Republic.

The last step of the plan is simple.  He will make his case on the floor of Parliament and demand a vote.  Valeria will be his proof that the Russian Democracy experiment is weak and a failure.  He only needs to convince the members of Parliament to vote out the Democratic leaders, which will leave a political vacuum.  Into that vacuum will step the new Communist leader like a hero of the people, and the transition will be complete.

Mironov does not, however, count on Josh.

Josh is able to deduce Mironov’s plan.  He arrives at the Kremlin in the morning, ready to kill Valeria to prevent Mironov from carrying out his plan.  Josh sees Valeria first and must force aside his feelings as he draws his pistol for what he knows he must do.  Mironov appears and confronts Josh in the antechamber of the Parliament building.  Valeria gets away and runs to the basements of the Kremlin.  Josh goes after her, followed by Mironov, who makes one tiny mistake.  Josh executes him in the basement of the very building from which he himself wished to rule.

Josh’s orders are to return the girl for questioning, but Josh knows that is not the right thing to do.  He defies his orders to return her to her lover, and by doing so costs himself his career.  His future is left up in the air while Ismail Rafjani begins his career of killing and destruction with the stolen plastic explosives.

When the world’s political powers are at stake, super villains and communists at large, it’s good to know that there is at least one man you can rely on.

That man is Clive Rubinstein.

It had to be loyalty, to himself and the American people. Clive was a sinner, but the kind of sinner that would sacrifice his own goals just for the purpose of good. A man who would make himself a martyr even if necessary.

This is how he was; this is who he was. The real Clive Rubinstein: Special Operative for the CIA and National Security Council. Licensed to kill and licensed, if necessary, to work independent or on reconnaissance. Not even other countries would let their highest agents do self-reliant work on behalf of someone or some purpose.

International Espionage is his specialty.

When former agent Spencer Prague agreed to be mentally and physically tested by a mysterious organization known as The Corporation, he got more than he had bargained for. And when he decided to work and be conditioned by them, he soon realized he bit off more than he could chew.