博客來U.S. government personnel around the globe are suddenly being struck down by debilitating noises and pressure surging in their heads. Pundits dub the incidents ＂The Havana Syndrome.＂ Scientific and medical evidence suggests the victims were hit with a powerful shock wave, and suspicion grows that the Russians are behind the attacks. A Russian mole high up in the US government dupes U.S. Intelligence Agencies into downplaying the outbreaks as one-off cases of psychosomatic or stress-related symptoms, or consequences of environmental contamination.
The FBI deploys cybersleuth Will Manningham to investigate a Havana Syndrome event in Palermo. Ordered to bring his wife, Sally, along as cover, but to conceal his mission from her, Will pretends he is taking her on a vacation to Italy to celebrate their wedding anniversary. The ploy backfires and threatens to tear their marriage apart when Will seems to become infatuated with a mysterious beauty they encounter. Will has a lingering feeling that he has some connection with the woman, but has no way of knowing that she is a Russian defector working for the CIA. Her assignment is to seduce the Russian kleptocrat suspected of being behind the Palermo attack and masterminding a plot far more devastating.
Will intercepts Russian communiques and secretly hacks into sophisticated CIA computers to decode and translate the messages. He is stunned to learn that the Americans injured in Havana Syndrome episodes were cannon fodder for tests of a deadly new cyber weapon. The Russians are preparing to establish a New Russian Empire that will return Mother Russia to its rightful glory of world domination. They are now primed to the conquer the Western Democracies by bombarding them with intense radiofrequency waves that will debilitate and demoralize the population and obliterate their agricultural lands and livestock.
Will discovers that the attack will come from outer space. A Russian nuclear submarine is set to launch two thousand killer satellites into orbit over Europe and North America. Before embarking on their mission, the submarine sailors cavort at a Bunga Bunga sex party. The CIA agent mingles with Russian naval officers at the party and learns the assault is imminent. She alerts Will, but her cover is blown and Russian mercenaries chase after her. Overcoming her suspicions about the woman’s relationship with Will, Sally teams up with her in a firefight for their lives.
Will has only a few hours to quell the assault. Working feverishly, he hacks into the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos and uncovers a vulnerability in the missiles. He hastily crafts malware that he embeds into their guidance systems, but he is too late to stop the submarine from launching the missiles. The West prepares to unleash weapons of mass destruction in retaliation against the Russians if Will’s makeshift program fails. As American and European leaders watch via satellite links, the first missile bursts up through the waters of the Mediterranean.
