Treason

When U.S. national security adviser Christine O’Connor, who has had more than her share of danger in the three years of her Washington career, decides to resign her position in Campbell’s gripping fifth series thriller (after 2017’s Blackmail), the U.S. president persuades her to stay to help negotiate a new nuclear arms treaty with Russia. Christine travels to Russia, where President Yuri Kalinin is under pressure from his military to seize territory to create a buffer between Russia and the NATO nations. After the recent failure of a similar move and the malfunction of a Russian secret weapon, Kalinin vetoes the military operation in the west proposed by Gen. Sergei Andropov. On the personal side, Kalinin, enamored of Christine because of her resemblance to his late wife, asks her to come to his summer residence for a short vacation after the arms negotiations. She accepts, but a coup engineered by Andropov removes Kalinin from power, resulting in a change of plan for him and Christine. Meanwhile, the Russians now have a functioning secret weapon to counter the Americans. Military action fans will be well satisfied. Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune Agency. (Mar.)