Andrew Thoms

The story as described briefly above moves rapidly around the US and Europe, from the unmatched summer and fall beauty followed inevitably by the frozen tundra of Minnesota to Washington D.C. to the colorful landscapes of New Mexico, to Madrid, Prague, and of course Moscow. Backdropped by 1980's political icons who are unknowing witnesses to the intrigue and danger swirling around them, the players take their desperate fight to the enemy completely on their own. Main characters include (1) the brilliant, egotistical leader of the team, Robert Templeton- formerly a hero at CIA for engineering one of the greatest Soviet defections in history, now relegated to a closet office as a lowly analyst at National Security Office (2) his most trusted lieutenant while at CIA, now retired legendary operative Albert Donaldson, a clandestine soldier's soldier who had made a mess of his personal life and was trying to make amends (3) Billy Bouchee, a drug dealing, hard partying former elite Canadian Airborne soldier and short time (fired for drug use) CIA operative, sporting a 160 IQ, a way with the ladies, and personal demons which are always present and accounted for, who will do about anything for money- an unlikely choice for such an important mission but who happened to possess the unique skills (including hockey) needed. There is also the lovely, stubborn and mature beyond her years daughter of Albert Donaldson, who has her own mission, the defector who made Templeton's early career, who hears from an old source inside the Soviet Union and initiates the mission, an NSA math whiz (Templeton's lady friend), a former love of Billy's, the only real constant in his life, and a young detective who could sabotage the entire mission. With the US government and the Russian KGB both looking to take them all down, the stakes and body count rise as do the odds against them. It will end, one way or the other, at the 1985 World Hockey Tournament in Prague. USA versus Russia. Who will prevail?