Two soldiers: one a celebrated military hero and the other a broken veteran living in the gutters of London. Their paths last crossed nearly twenty years ago. Now, amidst a hostage crisis in the Middle East, their lives are about to collide again. And the Strike Back is about to begin.

John Porter was involved in a hostage raid in Lebanon in 1989. The raid went disastrously wrong; several Regiment men died. John spared the life of a Lebanese fighter and blames himself for the deaths. Struggling to come to terms with the past, John has hit the bottle and is sleeping rough.

Colonel Peregrine Collinson was involved in the same raid. Unbeknownst to his colleagues, it was Peregrine’s fault that the mission went wrong. He was awarded a Military Cross and is heralded as a military hero for something he didn’t do.

After the disastrous raid, the lives of the two men couldn’t have been further apart. Until now. A hostage crisis in the Middle East draws the enemies back together again. Who will be the hero this time?


From the Trade Paperback edition.

"Chock full of military fat to chew on... will keep you awake until dawn."
— Irish Times

"Explosive plot... gritted teeth adrenaline."  
—Financial Times



From the Trade Paperback edition.

Chris Ryan joined the SAS in 1984. During his ten years in the elite squadron, he was involved in overt and covert operations, and was sniper team commander of the anti-terrorist team. During the Gulf War, Chris was the only member of an eight-man team to escape from Iraq. For this he was awarded the Military Medal. For his last two years he was selecting and training potential recruits for the SAS.


From the Trade Paperback edition.