Code Word: Paternity

The Armageddon genienuclear terrorismis out of the bottle, freed by bin-Ladens heedless avengers and a pissant dictator with Ray-Bans and a fondness for movies, as Americas president puts it privately a few hours before announcing a decision that will mark him forever as either a hero or a mass murderer. In a twenty-first century Pearl Harbor, nuclear terrorism takes its first cityLas Vegasand stalks Baltimore. The terrorists have no return addressbut the nuke they used does. A scientific trail scented by an ultra-secret U.S. program hidden for years behind the code word Paternity points toward the nation that made the bomb. But theres no smoking gun. Struggling to lead a divided, panicked America, wring support from uncertain allies, and blunt the opportunism of rivals, the president faces an ethical dilemma threatening his marriage, his presidency, and his very soul. As commander-in-chief, controlling nearly unfathomable power to retaliate, he can put the Armageddon genie back in the bottlebut at what cost and to whom? Ambition, conscience, and duty collide as heads of state, politicians, diplomats, and generals maneuver with the lives of millions at stake. Code Word: Paternity is forthcoming in trade paperback from Dog Ear Press in November 2012. Python function terminated unexpectedly [Errno 9] Bad file descriptor (Error Code: 1)