The storyline
Cold War is over, the Berlin Wall has fallen and Germany is reunified. In addition to that, thanks to Ryan, the Americans manage to restore peace in the Middle East. With all these good news, the White House lowers its guard. Ryan, already unpopular at the White House, urges Fowler and Elliott to increase their vigilance but he's a voice crying in the wilderness and is called a man from the past.
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, extremists put their hand on a nuclear bomb, 'lost' by the Israelis, and, in order to stop the peace process, they decide to sow division between two recent allies, still enemies not so long ago...
Quotes (from the book)
Why, you may take the most gallant sailor, the most intrepid airman or the most audacious soldier, put them at a table together - what do you get? The sum of their fears.
Winston Churchill
[Tht two contenders met, with all their troops, on the field of Camlan to negotiate. Both sides were fully armed and desperately suspicious that the other side was going to try some ruse or stratagem. The negotiations were going along smoothly until one of the knights was stung by an asp and drew his sword to kill the reptile. The others saw the sword being drawn and immediately fell upon each other. A tremendous slaughter ensued. The chronicle... is quite specific about the point that the slaughter was excessive chiefly because the battle took place without preparations and premeditation.
Herman Kahn, On Thermonuclear War
Cover Harper Collins