Bureau 39

For decades since the collapse of communism, North Korea, the so-called "hermit kingdom" has survived by making international crime a state enterprise.

CIA operative Frank Mitchum s area of specialty is Bureau 39 the top-secret government unit responsible for financing the rogue state s weapons of mass destruction. Mitchum uncovers the involvement of Jimmy Wu, a Hong Kong methamphetamine mogul, whose cross-border smuggling routes are vital to Bureau 39 s supply of WMD components.

An explosion at a container terminal in Hong Kong, an arms dealer and smuggler arrested in Thailand, and the disappearance of a CIA asset plague the investigation.

Even as the bodies pile up, Mitchum races to cut off Bureau 39's resources before it is too late; because the threat of the world s first nuclear holocaust depends on it.