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There are two stories in this novel. They include related family members but not the same main characters. In the first story, two friends become doctors and serve together in the ROTC. Dr. Sudarsan Chavala goes against his father’s wishes and becomes a Green Beret who participates in many missions in the Vietnam War. His friend, Dr. Havaladar, chooses to open a practice in the States and start a family. When Chavala returns from Vietnam, Havaldar helps him with housing and employment. After the men have retired, the son of a man Chavala killed in Vietnam kidnaps Havaldar in a bid to get revenge on Chavala. Chavala and his son, Sai, form a team and work to save Havaldar.
The second story is a political thriller. The president is assassinated, and the vice president vows to find out who is behind the act. A team is secretly put together to root out those responsible for the hit. Included are the president’s secretary and two LA police officers, one of whom has resigned and is employed as a security guard. The group knows that there is at least one mole in the US intelligence agencies and must work without the help of said agencies. Moreover, the assassination is tied to a terrorist group intent on starting a war.
Cinema writes his stories with the screen in mind. As a result, the reader is given two concise, action-filled stories which are self-contained and complete “episodes.” The inspiration for these types of stories is wide, and readers can easily ascertain the influence of popular action television. Readers familiar with the 1980s television series The A-Team will see that same kind of group camaraderie, one-liners, and exaggerated action. The good guys are always more inventive, intelligent, and capable than their counterparts. In terms of literary parallels, Clive Cussler is immediately brought to mind. His Dirk Pitt novels have a similar high-octane, thrill-ride aspect as that offered by Cinema. Another aspect these stories typically share is that many of the characters are ex-military and served with distinction. They have either left or retired and are called back into action because the risk of having a mole (or more than one) in the traditional services, whether it is the local police, CIA, NSA, etc., is high. The protagonists operate outside the law and have a network of contacts to get them equipment, information, and false identities.
The writing in Cinema’s book is focused on providing thrilling action scenes and making sure the reader understands exactly what the antagonist’s plans are and how much is at stake. Although the sentences aren’t highly poetic or descriptive, Cinema makes a point of providing a lot of additional detail to ground the stories. For example, he’ll include things like the exact type of pizza the characters are eating, the size of their diet drink, or the brand of beer they drink. The overall effectiveness of the book would have been enhanced through some additional editing for grammar and overly similar content between the two narratives. However, many readers will likely find themselves entertained by these two action stories with their exciting gun battles and intelligent, accomplished main characters.