THE PLACE: The Pentagon. Headquarters of the Department of Defense. Site of the supreme command and control facility for America's armed forces. The world's most safeguarded and secure building. THE EVENT: An unprecedented gathering, six years from now, at which the military leaders of America and Europe are to welcome into NATO its most controversial new member -- Russia. THE NIGHTMARE: In a breathtakingly precise, split-second operation using the latest military technology, a team of ruthless commandos takes over America's ultimate military command post -- from the inside. Within minutes, their hostages include the top military officials of twenty European nations, along with America's senior military commanders, the Vice President, the First Lady and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. THE STAKES: Higher than even the military is prepared to admit, because the enemy commandos have taken control of more than just an office building. They know secrets kept even from the President, and have used the Pentagon's incredible power to seize control of America's vast satellite surveillance system, including a revolutionary orbital weapon that makes all other weapons of mass destruction even nuclear bombs, obsolete. Just that one satellite -- codenamed QUICKSILVER -- is enough to decimate America and change the balance of power in the world, forever. With the Pentagon under siege by the very forces it commands, only the actions of one man and one woman can make the difference between America's survival as a superpower, or its defeat by an unsuspected enemy. But the man is trapped inside the Pentagon. He's a brilliant electronics engineer who's never used a weapon in his life, now forced into an uneasy alliance with a courageous young female midshipman who hasn't yet graduated from the Naval Academy. And the woman is trapped outside. She's a combat-trained Army major who knows the Pentagon's secrets, and who must convince the President to let her attempt a desperate, one-woman assault before the Pentagon is annihilated. Combining compelling characters with a fascinating inside look at the operations of America's most mysterious building, Quicksilver is the newest tour-de-force thriller of non-stop action and breathtaking heroism set against the backdrop of tomorrow's military, from the acclaimed authors of Icefire. Read Less