Mild Mannered Men: The Rain Will Wash Away The Blood (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9798988543428)

Title: Mild Mannered Men

Synopsis: The Rain Will Wash Away The Blood

The story is a thriller involving the theft of advanced computer chip designs and technology by Russian and Chinese agents.

The main characters are:

• John Nord, a video conferencing manager
• Laura Goodthing, John's fiancée
• Peter Holland, a reporter investigating a cyber finance story.
• Happy Camper, George Camper's sister involved in technology deals. Happy Camper puts together a venture deal during a VTC. John is running the meeting for Sergei.
• Mike Murphy, an FBI a special agent is tracking a drug cartel's trade tied into Silicone Valley thefts. Mike, who has a grudge, is working on a case drawing them into an international conspiracy, if not foiled, will change the political and economic course of the next century.
• Sergei Marcov, an ex-KGB freelancer, deals with the Cartel and China's technology leader.

The story begins on a mountain road during a one-hundred-year storm. John is racing his car up the dangerous mountain road in wild, reckless pursuit. The book flashes back four days, set in Northern California, and takes the reader on a fast-paced ride.

The story line centers on John, who becomes inadvertently involved in a case of technology theft when discs containing chip designs are mistakenly exchanged following a video conference he conducted. Sergei accidentally takes an incorrect disc and subsequently kidnaps John's fiancée, Laura Goodthing, to use as leverage.

Meanwhile, Peter Holland Peter, a reporter chasing a story, accidentally leaves his cellular phone in Happy's car; he notices a strange set of vehicles and familiar faces, compelling him to follow one of the cars to Pacific Heights and the scene of the murder of Intel's designer of chips.

FBI agent Mike Murphy is independently investigating different angles of the case - Peter from a journalistic perspective and Mike from a law enforcement one as he tracks a drug cartel that is also involved.

The story climaxes with a tense hostage exchange where John trades the disc for Laura. Diplomatic immunity allows the Russian agents to avoid prosecution.

The epilogue reveals that the stolen technology was part of a Chinese plan to dominate key industries by building backdoors into computer chips. It also touches on China's long-term strategy around nuclear technology and rare earth elements.