Never - Ken Follett (2021)

Macmillan, 2021, softcover, 818 pages, condition: as new.

The new must-read epic from master storyteller Ken Follett: more than a thriller, its an action-packed, globe-spanning drama set in the present day.

In the Sahara Desert, two elite intelligence agents are on the trail of a powerful group of drug-smuggling terrorists, risking their livesand, when they fall desperately in love, their careersat every turn. Nearby, a beautiful young widow fights against human traffickers while traveling illegally to Europe with the help of a mysterious man who may not be who he says he is.
In China, a senior government official with vast ambitions for himself and his country battles against the older Communist hawks in the government, who may be pushing Chinaand its close military ally, North Koreato a place of no return.
And in the United States, Pauline Green, the countrys first woman president, navigates terrorist attacks, illegal arms trading, and the smear campaigns of her blustering political opponent with careful and deft diplomacy. She will do everything in her power to avoid starting an unnecessary war. But when one act of aggression leads to another, the most powerful countries in the world are caught in a complex web of alliances they cant escape. And once all the sinister pieces are in place, can anyoneeven those with the best of intentions and most elite skillsstop the inevitable?
Never is an extraordinary thriller, full of heroines and villains, false prophets and elite warriors, jaded politicians and opportunistic revolutionaries. It brims with cautionary wisdom for our times, and a delivers a visceral, heart-pounding read that transports readers to the brink of the unimaginable.