<DIV><DIV><P>In this explosive series from <I>New York Times</I> bestseller Harold Coyle and noted military author Barrett Tillman, a new type of war is being fought by private paramilitary companies at the beck and call of the highest bidder. With its military and intelligence agencies spread thin, the United States constantly calls upon the services of these organizations--and Strategic Solutions, Inc. is among the best.</P><P>After a few bloody and unprofitable contracts, SSI is faced with a financial crisis. Forced to take contracts from less than reputable clients, the upper management and field agents find themselves in a labor dispute. When the Israeli government offers SSI an opportunity to help Druze militias in southern Lebanon fend off encroachment by Hezbollah, they know it's a fragile situation. If the truth were known, the international outcry against Israel would be deafening.  </P><P>Forced to work with a government whose ultimate motives are unclear, SSI takes the job and descends into a shadowy no-man's-land of tangled alliances and hostilities. Meanwhile, Hezbollah elements are planning their most audacious strike yet, assembling teams to detonate suitcase nukes in contested areas of Lebanon, hoping to destabilize the entire country. Caught between two elements of an age-old conflict, the battles the SSI fights may be a diversion...</P></DIV></DIV>