First published 2024
Mickey Bergman runs the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, where his phone rings whenever Americans like Brittney Griner or Paul Whelan face unjust imprisonment overseas. Families call him when government officials cannot or will not act. Mickey and his team travel to Moscow, Caracas, Pyongyang, and other hostile capitals to sit across from strongmen and find ways to bring people home. The work happens away from media attention and breaks traditional diplomatic rules. Each case demands creative thinking, pressure tactics, and patience as Mickey navigates between Washington power players and headstrong foreign leaders. He develops close bonds with desperate families who have nowhere else to turn. One success leads to another mission, another prison, another family in crisis. Working in the shadow of his mentor Bill Richardson, the late New Mexico governor and master negotiator, Mickey faces the emotional weight of holding innocent lives in his hands. Every negotiation brings the possibility of freedom or devastating failure.
Genres: international-relations, suspense, crime, contemporary, espionage, political-thriller
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, high-stakes, mentor-protg
Setting: Caracas, Moscow, Pyongyang, Richardson Center for Global Engagement, Washington
Period: Contemporary
320 pages · Hardcover · Center Street