In the latest high-stakes political thriller from "New York Times"-bestselling author Rosenberg, a Russian president feverishly consolidates power, silencing his opposition, and plotting a brazen and lightning-fast military strike that could rupture the NATO alliance and bring Washington and Moscow to the brink of nuclear war.

SEPTEMBER 1999: A series of apartment bombings in Moscow shock the world. The Russian government immediately blames Chechen terrorists, and Oleg Kraskin--a sharp young lawyer in love with the president's daughter--has no reason to doubt it. Yet when he joins the First Family of Russia, and the president's personal staff, he has no idea how radically the bombings will one day alter the course of world events. Or what role he himself will play.

SEPTEMBER 2001- Just after the Twin Towers and the Pentagon are attacked, Marcus Ryker enlists in the Marines and is sent to Afghanistan to defend his country. In time, he joins the United States Secret Service and works his way up to the elite Presidential Protection Detail. It's his dream job, until a tragic accident causes him to rethink his priorities.

Neither Marcus nor Oleg is aware of just how much they themselves will change history when their paths cross.

Russia's president is a rising czar determined to restore his country to her former greatness--and he will stop at nothing to do so. Even risk nuclear war.

Now Marcus has to make the most important decision of his life. Would it ever be right to assassinate a single leader if it could prevent a genocide? If it is, then everything he's learned to protect our president, he'll need to take out theirs.

A New York Times, USA TODAY, and Publishers Weekly bestseller
More than 100,000 copies sold

"Rosenberg cranks up the suspense, delivering his most stunning, high-stakes thriller yet." --Publishers Weekly
"A stellar novel of riveting action and political intrigue." --Mark Greaney, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Agent in Place
"Absolutely blown away by how good this guy is. . . . Simply masterful." --Sean Parnell, New York Times bestselling author of Outlaw Platoon
"An uncanny talent for focusing his storytelling on real-world hot spots just as they are heating up." --Porter Goss, former director of the CIA
"A full-throttle and frightening ride through tomorrow's headlines." --Brigadier General (U.S. Army, Retired) A. J. Tata, bestselling author of Direct Fire

New York Times bestselling author Joel C. Rosenberg returns with a high-stakes political thriller set in Russia.

Everything he learned to protect our president, he must use to take out theirs.

With an American president distracted by growing tensions in North Korea and Iran, an ominous new threat is emerging in Moscow. A czar is rising in the Kremlin, a Russian president feverishly consolidating power, silencing his opposition, and plotting a brazen and lightning-fast military strike that could rupture the NATO alliance and bring Washington and Moscow to the brink of nuclear war. But in his blind spot is former U.S. Secret Service agent Marcus Ryker, trained to protect but ready to kill to save his country.