03f748">
JAMES DEEGAN MC spent five years in the Parachute Regiment, and seventeen years in the SAS.
He served for most of that time in a Sabre Squadron, from Trooper to Squadron Sergeant Major, and saw almost continuous service on operations in Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. He fought in both Gulf Wars, and was on both occasions amongst the first Coalition soldiers to cross the border into Iraq. He was twice decorated for gallantry and, on his retirement from the Special Air Service, as a Regimental Sergeant Major, he was described by his commanding officer as ‘one of the most operationally experienced SAS men of his era’.
He now works in the security industry, in some of the world’s most hostile and challenging environments. His first John Carr novel, Once a Pilgrim, was published in January 2018.
An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2019
Copyright © James Deegan 2019
James Deegan asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Ebook Edition © January 2019 ISBN: 9780008229542
‘Brilliant.’
Jeffrey Archer
‘Inevitably Deegan will be compared to Andy McNab and Chris Ryan, but he adds his own brand of contemporary authenticity. Carr is a hero for our times.’
Daily Mail
‘As close as it gets to the real thing.’
Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham MBE, former SAS Warrant Officer and star of TV’s
SAS Who Dares Wins
‘James Deegan writes with masterful authority and unsurpassed experience.’
Chantelle Taylor, Combat Medic and author of Battleworn
‘Authentic detail and heart stopping narrative grips you from the outset bringing the shadowy world of today’s special forces bursting in to life in a way that other authors of the genre couldn’t hope for … the best thriller I’ve read in years.’
Major Chris Hunter QGM, author of Eight Lives Down and Extreme Risk
‘Exposes the raw with the reality. This is a gripping high intensity drama.’
Bob Shepherd, ex SAS Warrant Officer and bestselling author
‘Move over Andy McNab and Chris Ryan, there’s a new SAS veteran writing thrillers and he’s good. Very good.’
Stephen Leather
‘An impressive debut, that rates up there with Gerald Seymour and Fredrick Forsyth; blending a realistic vernacular of special forces soldiering to make a cracking read with page turning pace from start to finish.’
Stuart Tootal
TO ALL THE BRAVE MEN I HAVE KNOWN WHO WILL NOT SEE OLD AGE. THEY ACCEPTED THE RISKS, THEY STEPPED INTO THE BREACH, AND PAID THE ULTIMATE PRICE.
UTRINQUE PARATUS
WHO DARES WINS
THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION.
NONE OF THE EVENTS DESCRIBED HAPPENED, AND NONE OF THE CHARACTERS CONTAINED IN THE NARRATIVE ARE BASED ON ANY PERSONS, LIVING OR DEAD, UNLESS EXPRESSLY STATED.
O turn your eyes to where your children stand
From The Story of Hassan of Baghdad and How He Came to
Make the Golden Journey to Samarkand (1913)
JAMES ELROY FLECKER (1884-1915)
Contents