A horrible terrorist strike (referred to as Operation Deadly Rain) by the al-Qaeda is about to be launched against the United States during the holiday season, with perhaps hundreds of thousands of lives at stake. An artificial intelligence program is nearly completed that might predict in advance when, where, and how this attack might occur. When the CIA receives fragmentary warnings of the upcoming attack, the university researchers secretly developing this program (called StarSight) are abruptly plucked from their comfortable academic posts and thrust into the frontline of the war on terrorism. The stage is set for savage conflict: Professor Tony Shane, his beautiful research associate, Sarah, and a handful of university co-workers are condemned by their academic colleagues for conducting a secret project for the CIA. At the same time, they are exposed to deadly attempts by terrorist agents to sabotage their work. Unknown to the CIA and Senator Moorhouse, who is coordinating the StarSight project, the person responsible for Deadly Rainand ruthlessly attempting to terminate StarSight is himself a wealthy and respected American citizen and close friend of the Senator and his wife. With political intrigue permeating university and government circles alike, this adventure takes the reader from the comfort of the halls of ivy to the exotic settings of San Francisco, Zurich, Washington, and the Italian Riviera. Despite the personal trials of the researchers, politicians, and terrorists that unfold during this pre-holiday period, the purposeful efforts of the StarSight team to prevent the terrorist attack build to a heart-stopping climax.
