Mortimer Fox is a Silicon Valley legend and one of the most prominent figures in the world of high technology. As the founder and CEO of the largest monopoly in the history of the United States, he represents the ideal American entrepreneur. But his company, FoxComm, is more than just a mass producer of high-tech gadgets. Under a secret government contract, FoxComm has (OVER) created an expert computer system that will provide an unbreakable communications structure for the United States. Called Firewall, the satellite system not only holds all of the government’s encryption codes, but also possesses the nuclear launch codes that could begin World War III. A powerful man with many enemies, Fox hires protection specialist Bruce Tucker after his chief technical officer is kidnapped, tortured, and killed for information. An ex-CIA and Secret Service agent, Bruce takes his job very seriously. His only objective is to protect his principal from harm—at any cost. But an assassination attempt by an unknown terrorist group causes Fox to suffer a fatal heart attack and he dies in Bruce’s arms. His last words are, “Firewall…microfiche…lock.” Vowing to avenge his principal’s death, Bruce sets out to unravel the secrets behind Fox’s dying words. But in order to do so, he must locate Fox’s estranged daughter, Monica, the sole heir to Fox’s vast empire and the key to the mysterious words of the dying man. In reality, Fox built a top-secret backdoor program, called Creator, into Firewall using artificial intelligence software that duplicates his own knowledge, personality, and emotions. Through this program, Fox had the ability to control Firewall and all of its data—including classified government records that contain highly illicit information on some of the most powerful men in the United States government. Now only Monica holds half of a secret code that could blow the world’s superpowers—including the United States—off of the map. From the picturesque coastline of the island of Capri to the virulent green jungles of North Korea, Bruce races against time and deadly enemies to protect Monica. And as he begins to fall in love with the woman he has sworn to guard with his life, he finds himself caught in the center of a conspiracy targeted not only at disabling the national defenses of the United States, but also at triggering Armageddon.
