by Phil Klay
First published 2020
Mason, a Special Forces medic scarred by tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, arrives in Colombia as a military liaison. The wars may have damaged him, but they also created an addiction he cannot shake. War offers purpose, brotherhood, and stakes that matter. Now he partners with Colombian officer Juan Pablo to combat narco gangs and end civil conflict. Foreign correspondent Lisette follows the same magnetic pull toward conflict zones, ready to document what she believes will be a righteous campaign. Juan Pablo understands that managing American expectations requires him to simplify Colombia's tangled reality into digestible narratives. Meanwhile, in the lawless border region of Norte de Santander, Abel serves as a lieutenant in the militia Los Mil Jesuses. He has lost everyone he loved to the endless violence that defines his world. His survival depends on serving a commander he despises. When Los Mil Jesuses moves to seize power in Norte de Santander, the Colombian military enables them for its own strategic purposes. The Americans become pieces in a game whose rules they never learned. The collision of these forces destroys lives and creates consequences that reach far beyond Colombia's borders.
Genres: fiction, war, military-fiction, contemporary, action, political-thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, Norte de Santander
Period: 21st Century
416 pages · Hardcover · Penguin Press
Content warnings: addiction, violence, war