Seven Days of the Scepter

CIA media expert Andrew Cane believes he may have discovered a credible threat to his country's newest and most controversial Middle East initiative but no one directly connected to the process will take him seriously.<p>Code-named the <I>Armstrong Doctrine</I> by the handful of White House insiders selected to alter the course of history the American president's secret plan to recalibrate the region's powerbase begins with a divided Jerusalem.<p>Determined to sabotage their respective governments' efforts senior American and Israeli officials form an unnatural alliance with The Hand of God an Islamic militant group based in the West Bank. <p>Funding for their covert operation is secured when a priceless scepter stolen from a prominent Italian family's estate is delivered to a Virginia buyer with historic ties to the Third Reich. <p>Over the next seven days Giovanni Ponti will do whatever it takes to keep the rest of the world from discovering the physical connection and truth about his family's past. Unknowingly the direct descendant of Pontius Pilate controls the fate of the <I>Armstrong Doctrine</I> and the balance of power in the Middle East. <p>Cover design by Randy Rocchi of Design Site www.dsite.com.