Bomb grade

Russia's economy has collapsed, and the police have lost most of their authority. In this vacuum, organized crime is the only force that gets things done. Criminal gangs run the streets and hold sway over the militia and possibly the government itself, and rival families are fighting for control. Among them, a besieged crime lord has devised a scheme to secure his position indefinitely: stealing nuclear material on a scale never attempted before. For years, small quantities of uranium and plutonium have gone missing from atomic facilities, a few grams at a time. That was troubling but not alarming, since roughly five kilograms is enough for a bomb the size of the one dropped on Hiroshima. This time, however, the theft involves 250 kilograms of weapons-grade material. Russian officials are desperate and Western governments are alarmed, with the threat of nuclear catastrophe suddenly feeling close.

To stop the material from being smuggled out of the country, Charlie is sent to Moscow, the centre of a deadly illegal arms market. He must pose as an arms dealer and work his way into the leading Russian crime families.