Catalyst — Philip Cornford

In Moscow, a Politburo member is brutally assassinated. Moments later, his killer self-detonates, leaving no more than a puddle on the frozen ground. But the worst is yet to come. What at first seems the act of a lone fanatic is only the opening salvo in the worldwide campaign of terror orchestrated by a group calling itself Vigilantes for Peace.

Forced into an uneasy partnership, KGB Colonel Klimenti Amalrik and his U.S. counterpart Harry Bannon must track down the mysterious Vigilantes and suppress the power of their intoxicating slogan: /t is better that a few evil men die so that all the innocents may live. For like a clarion, the message resounds around the world and vast crowds march to its summons to violent change.

How can governments control the will of the mob when the mob is convinced its cause is just? Who are these Vigilantes and what is the power they hold over the assassins who so willingly sacrifice their lives to the cause? These are the questions that haunt Klimenti, a man trained never to question his life, his work, or himself, but who must now question all three if he--and the world he lives in--are to survive.