The China Oil Plot: Operation Ace in the Hole

Spy Fiction Mixed with the Realities of Today's Oil-Thirsty World After 20 years working for the U.S. Army Research Center, Bret Lee, a 44-year-old chemical engineer, retires to look for work in private industry, only to learn that in the tough 2010 economy, he's unable to find a job in his chosen field. But thanks to a quasi-government contact from his past, he's offered a high-paying job with a Venezuelan fertilizer company just outside Caracas. There's only one catch: he has to become a spy. Bret and his Chinese wife, Chu-Lin, accept the challenge, and both become enmeshed in the military, political, and diplomatic aspects of life within the most dangerous city of the world. With help from the local CIA and guidance from Washington, Lee uncovers an international plot that could throw all of Latin America into turmoil, and that could strangle strategic oil shipments to the U.S. Life gets even more intense when he finds himself locked up by SEBIN, the intelligence arm of the Venezuelan government. In a high-stakes game of poker, sometimes a player who has an ace card that only he can see, his "ace in the hole," will confidently bet big money that he will be the winner of that hand of the game. In the 21st century game of international petroleum supply, China puts big money and a lot more on the table to ensure that it will be the ultimate winner in obtaining Venezuela's oil production. But the new American spy also has an "ace in the hole," and his card trumps China's. The China Oil Plot skillfully blends real-world tensions with a thrilling plot that will keep you enthralled.