His last novel,The Small Boat of Great Sorrows,was hailed as "a relentlessly crackling mystery and adventure tale" (The Baltimore Sun) and "a new standard for war-based thrillers" (Los Angeles Times). In this electrifying new thriller, Dan Fesperman takes us to present-day Afghanistan--the global capital of death long before it became a battleground for America--where the fates of an American journalist and a Pakistani translator become dangerously intertwined with the fortunes of warlords, spies, and dubious corporate interests. A burned-out war correspondent hoping for a last hurrah in Afghanistan, Skelly arrives on the Afghan border just as American bombs begin falling on the ruling Taliban. Seeking the scoop of a lifetime as witness to the capture of "the biggest fish of them all," he links up with an exiled warlord's quixotic expedition. Guiding Skelly's way is Najeeb, a tribal Pakistani with his own objective--U.S. visas for his girlfriend and himself, promised by Pakistani intelligence if he acts as an informant. A harrowing crossing into Afghanistan is only the beginning of trouble for the two men. Their journey quickly escalates into a race for their lives as they are pulled into a vortex of intrigue, betrayal, and violence. Finally, only their loyalty to each other holds out the possibility of survival for either of them. Fast-paced, timely, and galvanizing from first to last.