The year is 1955. Charlie Stanek, former American operative and major, U.S. Army, was a man who wanted to mind his own business and live his life free of Cold War espionage. But no matter how far he tries to run or hide, the CIA always finds him. They want to enlist Charlie in their efforts to bring a stable, non-Communist government to newly created South Vietnam. After much persuading, he agrees and is soon on his way to Saigon. The plan is to persuade his friend and former lover, Madame Thieu, to work with the CIA. She has emerged as a powerful but pro-Viet Minh force in the South. The assignment is to search for a popular politician despite obstruction by the Americans and Vietnamese Army. Charlie soon discovers the Americans betrayed him. They are determined to install a pro-American, anti-Communist leader who Charlie decides is unacceptable. Ngo Dinh Diem is their man and they make sure the voters throughout the country ignore the 1956 general elections in Vietnam. Charlie is outspoken in his opposition and the CIA removes him from his post and orders him out of the country. To his dismay, to the CIA sends him to Washington, D.C, instead of his home in the Australian outback. Soon after a secret briefing with the CIA, Charlie must make his way to Europe. Even more hazardous than the previous assignment, the Soviets in Europe continue to hunt him because they believe he killed top-ranking KGB General, Andre Pavlov, a former nemesis. His mission is to uncover the spy ring responsible for poisoning an American agent in Saigon, while escaping the clutches of the dreaded KGB. Finally completing his mission with the Soviets on his tail, Charlie begins a long trek back to his home in Australia. Alone, he must fight off assassins and their undercover proxies to reach his home and young son. Other works by Robert Tecklenburg include Chasing Pancho Villa, Mission to Indochina, Torreon’s Fire, and a memoir of his experiences in Vietnam, THE BOYS NEXT DOOR: A Marine Returns to Vietnam. Tecklenburg is a former marine and PTSD counselor working with combat veterans. He and his wife Rebecca make their home in Northern Virginia.
