Moving to the present, American satellites have detected unusual activity at several Algerian air bases, and at Aïn Oussera one large hangar has been cordoned off and armed guards posted outside. Western intelligence agencies suspect that Algeria might be working-up its forces prior to launching an attack on Libya or Morocco, with potentially destabilising effects in the region. They’re also concerned that they might have obtained new aircraft or weapon systems, perhaps secreted in the guarded hangar at Aïn Oussera. The only way to find out is to get someone to look inside the building, and it will have to be a covert insertion.
This is where Paul Richter is called in, as ‘a deniable asset’, in an exciting non-stop thriller that moves rapidly through Bulgaria, Russia, and ultimately North Korea.