In this second book of the White House national security thriller series, Dr. Cameron Talbot, a famous expert on missile defense systems, returns to investigate how American airplanes could plummet from the sky-though nothing shows up on radar and none of the usual terrorist suspects have claimed responsibility. With the country in a panic and the economy taking a nose-dive, the beautiful scientist finds herself once again enmeshed in international...

When a passenger plane, a Vermeer One Eleven, slams into the ground outside Portland, Oregon, a team--the "crashers"-- is quickly assembled to investigate the cause. Usually the team has months to determine the cause of a crash. But this time it's different. This time, the plane was brought down deliberately, without leaving a trace, and this was only a trial run.

"Pass Christian, Mississippi, 1980: It is three in the morning when Bobby Western zips up the jacket of his wet suit and plunges from a Coast Guard tender into darkness. His dive light illuminates the sunken jet, nine bodies still buckled in their seats, hair floating, eyes devoid of speculation. Missing from the crash site are the pilot's flight bag, the plane's black box, and the tenth passenger. But how? A collateral witness to machinations that...