A little more than thirty years ago Tom Clancy was a Maryland insurance broker with a passion for naval history. Years before, he had been an English major at Baltimore's Loyola College and had always dreamed of writing a novel. His first effort, The Hunt for Red October, sold briskly as a result of rave reviews, then catapulted onto the New York Times bestseller list after President Reagan pronounced it "the perfect yarn." From that day forward, Clancy established himself as an undisputed master at blending exceptional realism and authenticity, intricate plotting, and razor-sharp suspense. He passed away in October 2013.

The explosion of a Chinese freighter in Charleston Harbor is the first sign that someone is capping Chinese interests abroad. Now under the control of the Pentagon, Op-Center is unsure of its own future-but must root out the cause of the attacks before the entire world is affected.