With the Cold War in full swing, oil is the name of the game . . . rich, black crude with the might to radically shift the world’s fragile geopolitics. Almost overnight, the tiny Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain sheds its near invisibility to become a hotbed of international intrigue.

As shadowy operatives of the Soviet Union and the United States battle behind the scenes for ultimate control, a mercurial Texas Wildcatter named Alexander Wyatt finds himself as the unlikely center of everything. Despite his best efforts to protect his beloved granddaughter, Melanie, from the massive events he helped to put in motion, he instead sends her on an intercontinental adventure overflowing with danger, romance, impossible riches, devastating betrayal, and above all, jaw-dropping surprise.

From the first page of this breathtaking thriller to the last, you will get swept up into an unforgettable world of greed and innocence, of soaring highs and devastating lows—all directed toward a shattering conclusion.

Susan Howell