Brief

Russia, no longer convinced of American resolve or military preparedness, decides to test the U.S. as never before, plunging the planet toward World War III. Agent Dave McClure is thrust into the middle of a malicious Russian plot and a harbor town’s lethal intrigue, each as perilous as they are startling.

What We Liked

- Espionage is usually exciting and people who are good at it are fun to watch. Usually there is a lot of conflict and a ticking clock or all hell will break loose. This story has the appeal of the prospect of WWIII happening if the heroes do not get the job done. The characters are all expert in their profession and there are some exciting gadgets that one comes to expect in this genre.
- The story is well-structured for a film/series. The scenery is beautiful, and the scale gets quite large when coastal towns and nuclear submarines are involved. There is a ticking clock with the ultimate in consequences if the job doesn't get done. There is plenty of action when the heroes come up against their enemies and this adds to the excitement of the story.
- Key points: Spies; WWII; Beautiful scenery; Villains getting what they deserve; The highest of stakes

Synopsis

Boat captain JOE KEANE takes his rowboat out to another boat on the ocean that seems incapacitated. Upon offering assistance to the man in the other boat, he is stabbed with a steel gaff for his questions. CIA agent DAVE MCCLURE’s plane is landing in Bangor. He remembers when he got the call that his wife and son were killed in a car accident back in Colorado. PETE NOVAK calls from CIA headquarters to check on Dave’s whereabouts in case he is needed. Dave drives to Bar Harbor, stopping to help BROOK and TROY and their mom HELEN. Troy got a fishing hook stuck in his arm and Dave cuts it out with a tool. They tell him they found a severed arm in the water.

Dave visits the chief of police, VEAUDRY, and inquires. He says the arm belonged to Joe Keane and the body may have been eaten by a shark. Also, two young boys have disappeared and someone was stabbed on the beach. At 2am, Dave is retiring after a large dinner and a few drinks, while Troy is out on rocks near the water watching a man in a skiff use some electronic device in the water. The next day, Dave finds a local bar/restaurant where he eats. KAREN joins him, having no other place to sit. He notices two men watching him from another table. A large man comes over and tries to dance with her, picking a fight with Dave. Dave kicks his ass quickly and says goodnight to Karen and her two friends who were watching him. The next day, they’re watching him again and Karen introduces herself as Naval Intelligence and convinces Dave to take a drive with them down to Connecticut where a submarine is parked. They would like his help. A contract job. He agrees.

Dave, Karen, WALT and CHARLIE head down to the Naval base in Connecticut where they meet with DR. FEIDLER and AVEDIS EZNIK. The Navy has a torpedo that can travel underwater at the speed of sound, and they think there is a spy within the program. He’s informed that there have been sensors underwater between Greenland and Iceland to detect Russian submarines, but the Russians have developed underwater drone submarines.They want Dave to check out a few possible double agents who have vacation homes near Bar Harbor. They think the US infrastructure is the target. There is a system in place to destroy Russia's ICBMs from space. Dave accepts the gig. Back in Bar Harbor, he gets a call from Novak letting him know that they are aware of his new gig for the Navy and there will be a team meeting him the next morning because there is a CIA mission that would run concurrently to his new Navy job. The next morning, Dave meets with Novak, CAM and BRAD. He signs paperwork and is once again an employee of the CIA. He’s given a gun and binoculars. Dave and Karen take a walk and have dinner, bonding over losing their significant others.

Dave is given cell phones and a credit card, and then they leave Dave to it. He calls back Troy, and finds out that his friend Brook has gone missing. Several boys their age have gone missing in the last couple of years there. Dave takes Troy back to the beach where Troy said he saw a man in a skiff put an electronic tube-shaped thing into the water. Veaudry warns Dave about meddling in the missing kid’s case and Dave tells him he’s in the middle of a Federal investigation and to piss off. Dave follows DR. HAL, the most likely person in the area to be a spy. Dave is caught while following Dr. Hal into the woods where he’s birdwatching and they talk. Dr. Hal is dying from pancreatic cancer and knows about the torpedo program. He convinces Dave that he’s no spy but directs him to look north.

Norfolk, VA. BRENDAN FITZPATRICK monitors a huge screen, then alerts Commander ZALESKI to a huge sonar blip near Greenland. It turns out to be two submarines traveling so close together as to appear as one, and it wasn’t noticed until they separated. Dave’s CIA colleagues provide him with an explosive device that can be attached magnetically to the drone sub and taken back to the full sized nuclear sub and scuttle it should it get too close to the American coast. Dave is to keep it until he’s ordered to deploy it. Dave meets Karen for dinner and she tells him to check out SILLIMAN and MALSET, two locals, as possible traitors. Dave is a little miffed that Karen/NCIS won’t give him more information. He goes to visit Silliman, but finds him murdered. Soon, the FBI and local cops are crawling all over the scene. Karen and Dave have dinner and tell each other they’re both attracted to each other. Forensics calls them back to Silliman’s house - they find a USB drive in his mattress with top secret submarine files. Dave shares his theory with Karen: Malset planted it to throw the scent off himself and pin it on the Silliman. Sheriff Veaudry orders background checks on Dave, but the agencies warn Dave about this and he in turn orders checks on Veadry. He finds out that boys went missing in the last place Veaudry worked too.

Dave checks out Malset’s house at night. He sees a Jeep in the driveway and the shadow of a man smoking on the porch. While watching from the woods, he hears the whirl of a drove above him. He tries to evade it, but it still follows him. Infrared, he surmises. He jumps back in his car and takes off. The Jeep follows him for a while. He evades it and heads back to his hotel. He checks in with Novak, who goes over the events in detail. He talks to Karen, and they both think Malset is the prime suspect. He’s given a special suit that can evade infrared detection. Dave goes to sleep and has nightmares about his dead son.

The next day he goes to check out Veaudry’s house and finds that it’s surrounded by a tall fence with razor wire. Dave finds out the Sheriff was never married even though he wears a wedding band on his right hand. It belonged to his father. Dave meets KEVIN, an agency man who has his special high tech suit and goggles - along with a Subaru that’s outfitted with the latest tech. They have lunch and check out the harbor. Kevin reminds Dave that they have the authority of the President to “neutralize” anyone deemed an enemy. That night at Malset’s house, Dave dons the camo suit and checks things out. He’s shot at by a dark figure, and hit in the chest. It hurts but there’s no blood. He sneaks up on the shooter and slits his throat. He figures out the man was Russian. Kevin comes and picks him up and they go back to the hotel where Karen and Charlie are waiting. Kevin explains that the suit is lined with Kevlar and Dave probably just has a bruised sternum. They call Novak, who tells Dave that he’s sending a team to take Malset’s house and kill anyone who gets in their way.

The team, heavily armed, come to Bal Harbor and, along with Dave and Karen, storm Malset’s house. No one is there, but Dave spots him getting away in his skiff, so he fires up the other boat and follows. He confronts Malset, who fires at Dave. Dave fires back and hits him, then Malset jumps in the water and tries to swim - but gets eaten by sharks. Dave reports the incident up the chain of command. They find out that the Russians plan to blow up a bridge that would trap most of America’s submarines and could start WWIII. An Admiral orders all of the subs to leave their docks and head out into the Atlantic while they send soldiers to where they think the Russians are hiding in a house near the Naval base. Troy’s mother calls Dave - Troy has gone missing. Dave and Karen head to Veaudry’s house. They ram through the fence and Veaudry comes out shooting, striking Dave in his right shoulder and thigh who drops his gun. Attempting to finish McClure, Veaudry is struck by two bullets to his shoulder and chest from Karen’s pistol. He swivels and shoots Karen, dropping her. McClure picks up his pistol and fills Veaudry with bullets, killing him. Dave goes in and finds Troy tied to a bed, but he’s okay. Dave calls for paramedics and they show up with cops and Dave’s colleagues. Navy Seals enter the water near the bridge and catch Russian divers attaching explosives. They kill every last one of them as thirteen submarines exit the Naval station and head out to sea.

Dave and Karen are in the hospital getting their bullet wounds attended to. Dave feels some guilt at having deployed the torpedo bomb that destroyed a Russian sub and killed over a hundred sailors. Dave learns he’s up for a big medal and Karen will get a great new job. Also, the remains of the missing boys were found in Chief Veaudry’s house. Dave goes to Karen’s room and says they’re going to convalesce together in the Virgin Islands.

About The Author

Award-winning author Andrew Ceroni served a distinguished career as a Senior Supervisory Special Agent focused in Title 18 U.S.C. Chapter 37 espionage investigations as well as counterespionage and antiterrorism operations throughout Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific Rim. Ceroni grew up in Poughkeepsie, NY, where he attended public schools. He was accepted to the U.S. Air Force Academy, graduating with a B.S. Degree, and received his M.A. Degree from Case Western Reserve University. Ceroni also completed studies in the German and French languages at the University of Maryland. He is a graduate of numerous intelligence and law enforcement training forums. An author of four award-winning novels, he is a member of Authors Guild and lives in Colorado with his family.