The authors call upon the unforgettable characters of their national bestseller, Grandmaster, to paint a vivid portrait of two men, sworn enemies, born under the same ominous stars, whose lives must forever be locked in mortal opposition.
American superspy and chess prodigy Justin Gilead, and Alexander Zharkov, head of a feared Soviet agency, are the protagonists. When a Soviet initiative to thaw uneasy relations with the U.S. is thwarted by a gruesome series of killings, Gilead and Zhartov claim the blood streets of Moscow as their personal gameboard in a rematch to the death. Ruthlessly, they launch their opening assaults against each other, rocking the command centers of both the Kremlin and the White House with wave after wave of violence. Neither man is aware of the dark consequences of his vengeance, until, through their bitter rivalry, another player enters the game...an opponent so powerful he makes murder seem like child's play.