What seems to be a straightforward case of Middle Eastern terrorism in newly united Germany turns out to be much less simple- -and perhaps not even Middle Eastern—in this first novel by a veteran newspaperman. A small band of terrorists, presumed to be Iraqis, takes over an ammunition dump containing nuclear weapons at the US Army base in Ochsenburg, Germany. The terrorists have only one demand—the release of one of their number now held in a German prison. Reporter Jonathan Cane, who once worked and fell in love in Ochsenburg, flies in from L.A. to cover the story. Unsatisfied with the highly controlled and sanitized information being released by military authorities, Cane goes digging in the territory he knows so well. In addition to turning up a number of inconsistencies in the military story, he discovers that the Army officer held as hostage in the ammunition dump is the martinet married to Cane's lost love, Maria Henry. And then a meeting with Maria reveals that the supposedly Iraqi terrorists who invaded the Henry household couldn't understand Arabic. Cane smells a very big story but runs into stone walls at every turn. And then the loyal landladies at this hotel tell him he is being sought by a rather creepy Army officer. Dodging frequent attempts on his life, Cane and his local friends piece together a plot that has nothing to do with Arabs and a great deal to do with the dark side of the German character. Mildly tense thriller. Interesting scenery and authentic detail.