A damned serious business

Summary: A new cold war is raging and its frontline warriors are Russian hackers--gang-members working freelance for the FSB, successor to the KGB. Massive thefts of personal information, electoral interference, catastrophic disruption with banks, airlines, even whole countries disabled--this is happening now. Nicknamed 'Boot' because of his obsession with the Duke of Wellington, Edwin Coker is a case officer of MI6. When a young hacker falls into his hands and reveals details of a secret meeting, Boot conceives a daring plan to strike back--not with a computer virus of his own, but with a bomb that will seriously damage the Russian operation, spreading fear and distrust. Now Boot and his little team need a 'deniable' handler to deliver the explosives across the border from Estonia into Russia and bring the hacker back out. They turn to Merc, an ex-soldier who knows how to get out of a tight spot. They hope. From the moment Merc sets out to cross the River Narva things do not go to plan and when the hacker's sister becomes involved, his mission turns from tough to almost impossible. The scene is set for a classic story of pursuit and evasion and an epic battle for survival.