"Helmand, 2004: Afghanistan's most lawless province, where nearly 90 per cent of the world's opium is grown. Gangsters and warlords battle for supremacy in the lucrative trade, territories well-known, and fiercely contested. Well Diggers, an Anglo-Dutch NGO helping the farming community, comes under attack. One man is dead and another man is missing - suspected kidnapped, so head of security Ginger Jameson calls in his old friend Alasdair 'Mac' MacKenzie to help. But when the expected ransom demand fails to materialise, rumours blossom, creating a web of deceit and a multitude of false leads. Embarking on a rescue mission into the no-go reaches of southern Helmand might look like a major scoop to Mac's girlfriend, investigative reporter Baz Khan, but it puts the whole team in danger. And if they don't find him soon, they won't find him at all. . ."
"2003. Kabul has become a frontier city, Afghanistan's fledgling democracy struggling with crime and corruption as NATO coalition troops, gangs and warlords jostle for control. When the body of a British serviceman is discovered in the city's infamous tank graveyard, the Kabul Police reach out for support in their investigation. Alasdair 'Mac' MacKenzie, formerly of the Metropolitan Police, is seconded to the team. Baz Khan, an Afghan-American investigative journalist, is in Kabul researching a story. Precious antiquities are disappearing amid the chaos, never to be seen again. Baz is determined to uncover whoever is spiriting them away, and she has a lead. . .The soldier's death was no accident. Why was he so far from the British base in the middle of the night? And alone? As Baz and Mac investigate, they quickly realise they have each stumbled on something far bigger than they reckoned with. . ."
