Ballistic

In the dying light of an Arctic afternoon a monstrous black shape slips beneath the Arctic waters of Murmansk bay. The Novorussiya is one of Russia's most advanced nuclear submarines, and she is carrying something that could change the world order forever . . .

Far to the south, at a military base hidden in the sub-zero forests of Arctic Russia, a lone figure steps out into a swirl of snow. Unseen, Major Orlov trudges to a distant corner of the base and retrieves a hidden transmitter. The FSB intelligence officer knows all about the Novorussiya and what she's carrying, and the time has come to alert his handler in London. He also knows that a net of suspicion is closing in on him. He wants out. And fast.

MI6 operative Luke Carlton is dispatched to help with Orlov's extraction across the border into Finland, teaming up with Finnish Special Forces officer Sini Järvinen. It's then that things start to go badly wrong . . .

As tensions between the West and Russia ratchet up and reach fever pitch, Luke and his Finnish accomplice are caught in a race against time to unearth the secrets of Moscow's latest weapon before it's too late.

Breathlessly exciting, frighteningly authentic and unnervingly prescient, Ballistic is Frank Gardner proving once again that he's one of the best in the international thriller business.