Joseph Cowley

This novel has been called an "intellectual thriller." Its central figure is Michael Reles, angent provocateur for the CIA. The novel moves with relentless passion as Reles and his sidekick, Pancho Gonzales, are caught up in the swift action of a band of rebels determined to overthrow the tyrant who rules his country with an iron hand. While the country and characters are strictly imaginary, the vivid writing makes the scenery and people compulsively alive.

Among the main characters are: Michael, a divorced man whose ideals force him into continuous danger as he battles to free an oppressed people; Pancho, a hot-tempered peasant who is oblivious to danger, except of the dark; Lillian Trebasco, a beautiful woman of the upper-class, ultimately willing to sacrifice her love for the cause; her brother Tony, a successful businessman who aids and abets the revolution; and the mysterious Colonel Calderone, the cool, resourceful master-mind of the coup.

This swift-moving novel reaches a climax when Michael and a group of commandos free Lillian from the prison in which she is being held, kill the guards responsible for raping her, and in a taut scene of hesitation and danger bring the cruel dictator's life to an end. A page-turner, this novel, with its realistic touches, is bound to please the most discerning reader as well as those who simply want a good read.