Originally published in 1987 as Black Market, this book brings readers back in time when the world was still swayed by the Cold War and a lot of today's international issues are different. The book starts with a thread (and the follow through) by terrorists under the name Green Band promising to blow up the buildings that make up the economic entity that is Wall Street at the close of the day on a Friday afternoon. As you can expect, this causes a bit of havoc on the markets in America and around the world.

The government has brought in Arch Carroll, the head of the anti-terrorism division at the CIA, and Caitlin Dylan, the SEC's Director of Enforcement, along with other government officials are brought together to sort out whom Green Band is and bring stability to both the markets and prevent further attacks. As you can guess, their partnerships ends up being more than a professional one as they travel around the world working with agents from France, Ireland and Britain, and other locations that are tied with leads they find.

Eventually, Arch and Caitlin find a lead that tracks to one former-Colonel David Hudson, a disgruntled Vietnam Vet leading a band of others like him. Hudson is clearly tied to the center of Green Band and nabbing him will likely allow Arch and Caitlin to solve the case.

The problem is that while Hudson and his team are involved, there is a lot more to Green Band than anyone can imagine. In fact, the true source of the plot to strike at Wall Street is a complete surprise that will shock even the most deductive reader.

This, like many of Patterson's early books, is stronger than most of the schlock he is cracking out today. Granted, it's age makes it a bit "behind the times" with the technology and computing that is at the core of today's stock market trading, it is still filled with action, intrigue, and conspiracy that will appeal to most fans of Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum.