After stumbling with The Teeth of the Tiger (2003), bestseller Clancy is back at the top of his game, aided by Blackwood (An Echo of War), with this update on the Jack Ryan story, both father and son. While the senior Ryan is sitting at home quietly penning his memoirs, the real action is taking place at "The Campus," the independent secret intelligence agency he set up when he was commander in chief. Jack Ryan Jr. , who works for The Campus as a researcher, has, unbeknownst to his father, begun involving himself in field operations.