Across Latitudes

It was a cold night when Paul Drake, an Iraq War veteran, wandered into the Zephyr Gallery in Manhattan’s Chelsea district. Little did Paul realize then that his chance encounter with Katerina Volkova would spark an unlikely but fated romance. An ongoing government investigation soon thrusts them both into a treacherous world of Russian power plays, double agents, and illicit chemical weapons sales. A lethal network of war profiteers working in the shadows aim to prolong the chaos - no matter the human cost.

"We become important only because of our decisions," Katya Volkova advised him. What she meant by this, Iraqi-war veteran Paul Drake wasn't quite sure at first. In this fast-paced sequel to Against the Dusk, Paul confronts a dangerous world of shifting global power politics and illicit weapons deals. A cat and mouse game to ferret out Russian-backed arms dealer Bogan Zoidze leads Paul, Katya, and a cast of other memorable characters to war-torn Syria, the posh avenues of Paris, ancient Black Sea ports, and hidden island retreats in Malta and Sicily.

Eastern Light, the third volume of espionage thriller series Across Latitudes, opens during the heady, uncertain first days after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. As the deadly war unfolds, Paul Drake’s unlikely alliance with the enigmatic Katerina Volkova escalates to an even greater level of danger as the pair navigate between the West’s confused, imperfect democracies and an autocratic, repressive East.