Exposure — Jane Harvey-Berrick

What would you do if you found out a really, really important secret? What would you do if people were prepared to kill to stop you revealing this secret? And what would you do if the secret was held by the US government? “Well, think about it this way,” said Helene. “What would happen if the world found out that the US couldn't pay its debts?” Charlie shrugged. “The US government would have no choice: they'd have to reset the clock and revalue the dollar: $1,000 old dollars would equal $1 new dollar. That way they'd essentially wipe out their debts. Meantime, the world economy shudders to a halt, businesses are bankrupt all over the world, governments fall, countries go to war, millions die. Ultimate chaos: the fire sale of all time.” When journalist Helene La Borde overhears a chance conversation on a train, she becomes implicated in one of the great cover-ups in history. Chased from her home, her first clue about the people trying to kill her is at a drug-fumed house among the surfers of Hawaii's North Shore. Her second clue is revealed by a Shinto priest in Japan, and the third clue �" or possibly a dangerous red herring �" by an IT and security specialist in Bahrain. When she lands in the bizarre twilight world of conspiracy-theorist super-hackers on America's West Coast, the danger is chillingly real. Along for the ride is ex-mercenary Charlie Paget. But Helene begins to wonder if he is protecting her or using her. When government agents do more than threaten, Helene is forced to tell everything she knows, or thinks she knows. A final chase through New York's Holland Tunnel gets Helene to her publishing agent, and the chance to tell her story �" if she dares. Helene's personal cost is high.