About this item
In Washington, D.C., on a night full of rain, a woman is struck down and killed by a hit-and-run driver. But she is not just any woman, she is the assistant to the head of the secret White House department known only as the Basement. And she had secrets of her own. In the Virgin Islands, former president Jake Cazalet receives a warning. He is recuperating on a diving trip after successfully helping Sean Dillon and the rest of the 'Prime Ministers private army' defeat an Al Qaeda operation in London. But though AQ may be weakened and facing competition from other terrorist upstarts, it is far from dead, and it intends to prove it. Soon the ripples from these two events will spread and overlap, not only in Washington but around the world. Everyone involved will find themselves in the most desperate battle of their lives.
About the Author
Jack Higgins was best known of the many pseudonyms of Henry Patterson. (See also and He was the bestselling author of more than seventy thrillers, including and . His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Patterson grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. As a child, Patterson was a voracious reader and later credited his passion for reading with fueling his creative drive to be an author. His upbringing in Belfast also exposed him to the political and religious violence that characterized the city at the time. At seven years old, Patterson was caught in gunfire while riding a tram, and later was in a Belfast movie theater when it was bombed. Though he escaped from both attacks unharmed, the turmoil in Northern Ireland would later become a significant influence in his books, many of which prominently feature the Irish Republican Army. After attending grammar school and college in Leeds, England, Patterson joined the British Army and served two years in the Household Cavalry, from 1947 to 1949, stationed along the East German border. He was considered an expert sharpshooter. Following his military service, Patterson earned a degree in sociology from the London School of Economics, which led to teaching jobs at two English colleges. In 1959, while teaching at James Graham College, Patterson began writing novels, including some under the alias James Graham. As his popularity grew, Patterson left teaching to write full time. With the 1975 publication of the international blockbuster , which was later made into a movie of the same name starring Michael Caine, Patterson became a regular fixture on bestseller lists. His books draw heavily from history and include prominent figures - such as John Dillinger - and often center around significant events from such conflicts as World War II, the Korean War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Patterson lived in Jersey, in the Channel Islands.
