This novel is the first in a series exploring possible outcomes of decisions being made today. The focus is military, as that is the frame of reference for the two authors. However, the situation and outcomes illustrate all too real possibilities given the disarray seen in the unraveling of the all too familiar world order since the end of World War II.
This novel introduces a series of characters who play pivotal roles in events that lead to a limited nuclear exchange. Instead of strategic weapon systems and ballistic missiles, tactical nuclear weapons are deployed from surface ships moving along the coastal waters of both China and the US.
The key players on both sides of the conflict are followed through the information they receive, framing the decisions they must make, and the pressures upon them from those who authorize the actions taken.
Ackerman and Stavridis illustrate that those who are responsible for the decisions seldom pay the ultimate price for them, but rather sentence others to either carry the weight of their actions or pay the ultimate price as sacrificial lambs.
Told though the eyes of many involved on all sides, it is a cautionary tale that technology may render invincible systems useless in defending our freedoms. just as the Ukrainians have learned to out maneuver overwhelming force with toys that have grown into lethal weapons of their own. The lesson: The future has arrived and those who have been planning for a repeat of the last war have been asleep at the switch jeopardizing the way of life for all of us.