Decency is a more exhausting state than its opposite.

For readers curious about what goes on inside the US Predator program, this dandy novel will provide an insider's look.  The book explodes with action as Clarke describes the leading pilots of drones, their missions, and the intelligence personnel who run the program.

The drone program has had such success that a group of Arabs who are on the terrorist list set up a meeting.. The meeting is with the head of the Qazzani Cartel who deal with heroine distribution, the sale of weapons, stolen electronics and gold. They have also been responsible for the death of many Americans.

They decide to strike back against the US. in a two fold plan. They will explode bombs at key US cities, attack drone pilots in America and destroy drones on the ground.

Clarke details the success of the drone program but also conveys the bad publicity from strikes that killed innocent people. When the terrorists set up a trap for the drones, they make it look like the drones were responsible for an attack on an orphanage.  This gives more bad publicity and makes certain officials in Washington condemn the program and want to install rigid rules before a strike can be made.

The administrators of the drone program have to deal with these politicians and feel that many of them seem to have forgotten what happened in 9-11.

Clarke revs up the suspense as the days get closer to Christmas, the day the terrorists plan to unleash their attack. We wonder how the terrorists can be identified and if they can be stopped before many people are killed.