A novel about the United Nations, the South China Sea, and a claim to the Spratly Islands.
If you stay abreast with world news, you have probably seen more than one story concerning China’s claims to the South China Sea and the Spratly Islands. Although this fictional novel takes place in 1998, it is about that same debate; when the United Nations was struggling to develop an amicable solution to the centuries old quandary. A freshman ambassador from New Zealand presents the Security Council with a plausible solution to the seemingly impossible situation; however, it may be too late. The Permanent Five (P5) members of the Security Council have unwillingly become personally invested in the outcome.
Who is terrorizing the Security Council’s P5 ambassadors with contentious demands that carry agonizing consequences? The UN’s credibility, innocent lives, a quarter of the earth’s oil reserves, and the Far East balance of power are at stake. Could Paul Toussaint, a controversial private investigator, make a difference? Or, will his reliance on his gut instinct, a young computer geek, and his family’s resources complicate the situation? The President of the United States makes an unprecedented decision, and Paul Toussaint is forced into a multimillion-dollar gamble; a deadly game of hide-and-seek ensues; and the winner of a desperate fight to the finish could determine the UN’s future credibility.