Book excerpt: A $15 million ransom. A plane down in the remote swamps of Darwin. A new partner who plays by the rules. Returning from an enforced sabbatical after his partner Anna's death, Special Agent Vin Cooper feels compelled to help an acquaintance of hers – Vegas showgirl, Alabama Thornton. Alabama's boyfriend, Randy, was on a plane that's gone down and she's just received a gruesome ransom demand. But Vin's favour quickly spirals into a full-blown multi-agency screw-up. Not only was Randy hiding high-level secrets, he is also connected to a stolen nuclear weapon. Vin and his straight-laced new partner Kim Petinski chase leads from Darwin to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, and then further still into Tanzania. As their investigation hits dead ends, and dead bodies, an alarming possibility arises: the missing warhead is in the hands of Benicio von Weiss. Von Weiss is a major international arms dealer on every watchlist that counts; he's also a man of diverse tastes, including snakes and Nazi memorabilia. And he has an obsession: vengeance against America. If von Weiss is involved, all bets are off. With the threat of a plutonium mushroom cloud hanging over his head, Vin will risk his job – and his life – to bring the war lord to justice. "David Rollins has conquered the international action thriller market with his Vin Cooper novels" – The Age "A gripping tale... tense... frantic" – Good Reading