Heirs of the Fire

Vividly-drawn characters. Lightning-fast pacing. World events torn from tomorrow's headlines. These are the elements that Robert Cullen ignites in his electrifying new novel of international intrigue. Heirs of the Fire has the ring of authenticity and take-your-breath-away suspense that Cullen brings to everything he writes. When veteran Washington reporter Colin Burke sinks his teeth into a story, he won't let go until the ink dries. So when Burke learns that the president, despite official denials, plans to sell advanced PAC-3 missiles to Saudi Arabia, he runs a story exposing the lie--and sets in motion a series of events that lights a match to the explosive tinder box of Saudi politics. The Americans threaten to renege on the missile deal. Islamic militants launch a violent revolution. Oil prices triple. And Burke, who has flown to Saudi Arabia to help a woman from his past, covers it all, beating out the world. Yet Burke is soon swept into the very heart of the fire--and a conspiracy. A well-planted rumor brands him an operative, landing him in a Saudi jail. Then the White House orders a covert attack on the sacred mosque in Mecca, to kill the militant leaders and restore the Saudi dynasty. CIA agent Desdemona McCoy, Burke's secret love, advises against it, but her warning falls on deaf ears. Soon the region is exploding--and McCoy and Burke are in prime position to be burned by the conflagration. . . . Packed with daring escapes and back room betrayals, relentless action and shocking twists of plot, Heirs of the Fire is a tour de force political thriller.