The Persian Project

The year is 1978 and Iran is in turmoil. Political, religious and societal forces have coalesced to threaten the Shahs reign, and imperil U.S. interests in the area at the height of the Cold War. Despite disarmament talks with the Soviet Union, the U.S. fears deception, and has taken steps to monitor Soviet activity in the area.In a timely and perceptive prequel to his popular Clint Jagger series of international thrillers, award-winning author Mark Irving mines his public affairs experiences and expertise in Tehran in the mid-1970s to create a work of fiction that brings alive the people, places and events of that period, and the threat of a nuclear catastrophe in the Middle East. Irving introduces the indefatigable Jagger, the former Special Ops veteran of Vietnam, who has settled in the Colorado Rockies to escape his wartime demons. Savoring the solitude of his new lifestyle, Jagger reluctantly accepts a special assignment from his former Marine commander to investigate the failure of secret underwater detection devices monitoring Soviet activity in the Caspian Sea.Arriving in Tehran under cover as a telecommunications consultant, Jagger finds himself ensnared in political intrigue and civil unrest, and mistreatment at the hands of the sadistic commander of infamous Evin Prison. He is released in time to witness the Shahs departure and the Ayatollahs arrival. When the U.S. Embassy is overrun and the hostages taken, he is asked by the National Security Agency to remain in Iran, a mission that thrusts him into a series of life-threatening situations from the Elborz Mountains to the steps of ancient Persepolis, while surrounded by a cast of memorable characters.The locations move from Iran to Italy, Switzerland, England and the U.S. and back to Tehran for an explosive climax that foreshadows current events. Action, suspense and intrigue abound in this novel by an astute writer of authentic thrillers.