Craig Thomas — Winter Hawk

William Morrow & Co 1987 Hardback, 480pp. One week before the Nuclear Arms Reduction Treaty is to be ratified in Geneva by the American and Soviet leaders, a CIA agent-in-place confirms that at the Soviet launch site, Baikonur, preparations are being made to place a laser weapon in orbit around the earth. If the launch is successful, the West will be defenceless and the Soviet Union will be controlled not by its government but by generals. A panic-stricken US President puts Winter Hawk into operation, a desperate penetration mission into Soviet Central Asia, via Afghanistan, to bring out the agent-in-place and his proof before the laser weapon can be launched. Mitchell Gant, the hero of Firefox and Firefox Down, must fly one of two stolen Russian helicopters. He has four days to succeed. When the second of the helicopters, carrying his reserve fuel, is destroyed, Gant can neither reach Baikonur nor the safety of the West, unless . Gant's flight into Russia, his fateful encounter with the KGB officer, Dmitri Priabin, who desires revenge on Gant above all else, his capture and subsequent attempt to escape, all set against a chilling background of nuclear confrontation and 'Star Wars' technology, show Craig Thomas at the height of his powers. In Winter Hawk he has created his most unforgettable adventure thriller to date. Dust jacket very lightly worn and faded. Pages lightly tanned. (ISBN: 9780002231404). Good.