When he beheaded one of the great imams of Mecca, Al' Jalaad became the world's second most wanted terrorist. Since joining Al' Qaeda, he has embedded himself in the Sunni enclave of Mosul.An unlikely trio unite to hunt him down; an unbreakable Delta force master sergeant, a maverick Australian infantry lieutenant, and a cold-blooded CIA operative. But safe in his stronghold, Al' Jalaad is orchestrating a terror attack that will leave a scar on the American psyche deeper than Vietnam. All he needs is the American higher command to follow their standard playbook to unleash a catastrophic chain of events. 'Many people think it impossible for guerrillas to exist for long in the enemy's rear. Such a belief reveals lack of comprehension of the relationship that should exist between the people and the troops. The former may be likened to water, the latter to fish who inhabit it.

'Chapter 6, "On Guerilla Warfare" Mao Zedong, 1937. 'Sir, we just got our asses kicked. This feels like attrition warfare. We need a different strategy.''You have something in mind, Grafton?' 'What if we think of the insurgents as fish among water.''You're referring to Mao, I presume? Alright, Grafton. How do we get them out of the water?''We don't, sir. We go into the water.

We make ourselves the bait.'A military thriller in the tradition of Tom Clancy.