In A Pinch (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781779625595)

Casper Lynch is an ordinary guy in a plebeian public service job, struggling with his own demons, until circumstances plunge him into a situation beyond his experience. As the 21st century begins, evidence is found suggesting that the RADAR-imaging satellite he is responsible to operate for the Canadian Space Agency is being used for strategic purposes, contrary to government policy, by a mid-Eastern rebel intent upon removing Saddam Hussein from power. As orders for images from the satellite are being placed by a third party, the real client is unknown, and neither the agency nor its industrial partners have authority to demand his identity. As Canada is an ally of Iraq's, when word leaks to the press the government faces a political crisis. Casper's assignment to uncover the identity of the client leads him into a sinister world of intrigue and danger. A seemingly chance meeting with a mysterious stranger, who promises him a way out of his conundrum, leads him to risk contract fraud to raise cash to pay a shadowy investigator to find the name of the client. Caught in the act by the RCMP, he is obliged to be the front man for a sting operation to bring both men to justice. Suspecting a secret cabal trying to change government policy on Iraq, and at great risk to himself and his family, he pursues his mission to an unexpected end.