From the rubble of Damascus to the corridors of Washington, a frightening new conspiracy of terror emerges.

In war-torn Syria, a massacre survivor is pulled from beneath a pile of bodies. She is given one instruction: 'find Jed Walker'. Walker is ex-CIA - a man who thought he was long out of the game. Discovering a terror outfit is running people-smuggling from the Middle East and into the United States, he is drawn back in to fight their evil trade. At first Walker thinks these human traffickers are driven purely by profit and greed. But it is much worse than that - and it has ties to the highest levels of power.

As the body count rises and deadly enemies stalk from the shadows, Walker uncovers the shocking truth behind an operation intended to bring America to its knees. As he attempts to make things right, Jed Walker will learn the true cost of life - and pay a devastating price.

James Phelan is the best-selling and award-winning author of 28 novels and one work of nonfiction. From his teens he wanted to be a novelist but first tried his hand at a real job, studying and working in architecture before turning to English literature, spending five years at a newspaper and obtaining an MA and a PhD in literature. For Hachette Australia, James has written five titles in the Lachlan Fox thriller series and the Alone trilogy of young adult postapocalyptic novels.

The ex-CIA character of Jed Walker was first introduced in The Spy, which was followed by The Hunted, Kill Switch and Dark Heart. James has also written a 14-book adventure series for Scholastic, titled The Last Thirteen. He has been a full-time novelist since the age of 25 and spends his time writing thrilling stories and travelling the world to talk about them.

To find out more about James and his books, visit www.jamesphelan.com. Follow and interact with James: www.facebook.com/realjamesphelan, www.twitter.com/realjamesphelan, www.instagram.com/realjamesphelan, www.whosay.com/jamesphelan.