In 2003, Jed Bradley is sent to Bagdad to photograph weapons of mass destruction to justify the coming war. But is this really what the British Government is looking for? Jed met Nick's daughter Sarah in foster care and they have been dating intermittently for ten years. Both attended Cambridge and Sarah is now a nuclear physicist working on cold fusion (the ultimate weapon) with her professor who we learn is originally from Kurdistan.

Nick is now a security consultant for an oil company on the Algerian Coast. He has overcome his alcoholism and reconnected with his daughter to some degree. On his return to London for a visit with Sarah, she neither answers her phone nor can be found at her apartment. When Nick discovers that £100,000 has been added to their joint bank account and that the phones in his flat have been bugged, he is certain that Sarah has gone missing. 

 Ultimate Weapon is the story of a father's search for his missing daughter. Sarah, however, is no ordinary daughter as her knowledge of nuclear energy could change the political balance of the world. Nick is no ordinary father as he is able to return to the dungeons below the palace in Bagdad and travel with Jed to Tikrit and the caves of Kurdistan.  

American readers of this somewhat implausible tale will have to overcome some British terminology (bollocks, Ruperts, paras etc). Other recent thrillers have provided a more realistic approach to war but Ultimate Weapon does provide a lot of action. Author Chris Ryan, a former SAS elite squadron hero, can call upon his experience in battle. However, even Mr. Ryan, winner of the Military Medal, could not have escaped from the predicaments of Nick, Jed, and Sarah while all around them succumb.

--Jerry Solot