Here, from the author of such monumental bestsellers as Kane and Abel and As the Crow Flies, is an ingeniously plotted thriller that is as up-to-the-minute as today's headlines.

In Washington DC, in the spring of 1993, it is the dawn of a new political era – but six thousand miles away, in the impoverished streets of Baghdad, there is a growing disillusionment with the unelected president. Sensing the mood of the people, Saddam Hussein moves boldly to settle scores with the United States.

Using $100 million as bait, Saddam gathers into his web three key players: a powerful American Mafia boss; the world's greatest forger; and most crucially, a special assistant to the President of the United States, Bill Clinton.

Saddam's goal is to embarrass the U.S. by stealing part of its history – then destroying that symbol in front of the world's media. With the help of a sophisticated criminal underworld that the exhibits Swiss-watch timing, and a skilled actor who is transformed through plastic surgery into a stand-in for Bill Clinton, he sets about his brilliant scheme.

As the countdown begins to July 4, 1993 – potentially, the most humiliating day in U.S. history – two lovers, a beautiful Mossad agent and a dashing American professor who advises the CIA, turn out to be a far more formidable weapon than any Patriot missile.

And what is sure to be hailed as the suspense novel of the year; master storyteller Jeffrey Archer reminds us that the things worth dying for are sometimes to be found in the words that define our historic values.