The Shadow of Pharsalus; The River Rubicon II (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781069272737)

The United States is at war with itself. After months of unrest and authoritarian overreach, the military has executed a dramatic coup in a desperate bid to restore order. Martial law is declared. Civil liberties are suspended. What was once a democratic republic now teeters on the edge of collapse.

But in the shadows of this new regime, another power is rising.

The Shadow of Pharsalus, the explosive sequel to The River Rubicon, thrusts readers deeper into a world of conspiracies, high-stakes diplomacy, and the dangerous collision between patriotism and power. As the federal government fractures and blue states resist the military's rule, a far-right paramilitary movement-the National Christian Defenders-mobilizes for a takeover of its own. In secret compounds across America, they prepare for their version of the endgame.

Abroad, foreign powers circle like vultures. Russia, having emerged victorious in Ukraine, now sees opportunity in America's chaos and sets its sights on the Baltic states. But beneath the surface of these geopolitical tremors lies one constant: the unrelenting presence of CIA operative Margaret "Maggie" Drake.

Brilliant, calculating, and haunted by the consequences of her past, Maggie navigates a treacherous landscape of shifting allegiances, secret networks, and moral compromise. When a high-ranking general is assassinated and a mysterious device surfaces near the U.S. Capitol, Maggie is drawn into a deadly web of misinformation and global espionage-where the stakes are nothing less than the future of Western democracy.

As tensions explode from Washington to Jerusalem, from Moscow to Montana, Maggie must outmaneuver enemies both foreign and domestic-while grappling with the ghosts of the people she's lost. But even in the darkest hour, she knows one thing: if America is to survive, the truth must win out.

Masterfully crafted and disturbingly timely, The Shadow of Pharsalus blends political realism with page-turning suspense. It is a warning, a mirror, and a testament to the thin line between order and chaos.

For fans of Jason Matthews, Olen Steinhauer, and Robert Ludlum-this is not just a thriller. It is a glimpse of the world that could be.