A roller-coaster terrorist thriller from Australia's answer to a post-Osama Tom Clancy.

Jed Walker has 48 hours to save the world. The countdown has begun....

The world is under cyber-attack. The secretive terror outfit of linked lone-wolf operatives known as Zodiac has activated another terrorist cell. Chaos will be unleashed at six-hour intervals, with each event more catastrophic than the last, culminating in a devastating global catastrophe within 48 hours. The options for the hackers are endless: bring down California's telecom system; remote detonate explosives at an army base in Virginia; cause Amtrak's signals to fail; collapse air traffic control in US airspace. Consequences are unthinkable.

The US president has the power to enact the Internet Freedom Act - the 'kill switch'. Turning off the net will stop the attacks and give the CIA and the Pentagon time to track down those responsible. But it's not that simple. Fourteen people with the key to restart the Internet are missing. The US will plummet into pandemonium if electronic communications cease. The rest of the world will follow.

Jed Walker, ex CIA-operative, has thwarted Zodiac twice before. But this time nothing will prepare him for what he uncovers. Walker has 48 hours, and the countdown has begun....

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.