Priority One

Deep within a canyon on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, a shadowy group has gained control of enriched uranium. As a B-2 stealth bomber bears down on the area, a CIA agent and a USAID worker fight with each other as much as with the terrorists, trying to prevent nuclear weapons from falling into the wrong hands. Immersed in the Sahara's exotic landscape and culture, the reader is introduced to local characters whose past interactions with foreigners have left them bitter and resentful. The exploitation of their homeland by colonialists leads two young men into local rebellion and eventually into a terrorist group that has frighteningly easy access to the ingredients of a nuclear weapon. Priority One is a thoughtful thriller, testing the proposition that a military response is the only effective deterrent to terrorism. The American characters bring different perspectives to one of the most difficult issues of our time, while the motives of a seductive Russian aid worker are shrouded in mystery. There are divergent points of view on America's global responsibility in the post 9/11 world - just as there should be with such a complex subject - and no one is safe from doubt. The parallel plot lines converge in the exciting fast-paced final section of Priority One. But even as the characters move toward achieving the primary mission of destroying the uranium facility, they react unpredictably to the pressures of combat, and the door is left open for the next threat in the unpredictable world of the 21st century.