Vital Statistics: The Die Is Fair — S. Khubiar

Samuel Nissan is a cub Israeli operative bringing an urgent message to Oxford doctoral student Shahla Markow on the Jewish holiday of Purim. The minutes are ticking down on the transfer of a Hezbollah rocket shipment, and Shahla must devise a plan to bloodlessly capture the biggest terrorist money launderer in Europe. In their meeting place, The Eagle and Child pub, Samuel relays that it's not just the Oxford-based terrorist who Shahla must capture, but his two soldiers who protect him in the university town. Support personnel are too far away to respond by the midnight deadline for the money transfer, so Shahla's calculations in the famous pub must be equally as canny as the ancient Persian Queen Esther's plan to overturn a malicious roll of the dice. What Shahla can't factor into the equation, however, is how far the Iranian terrorist's tentacles reach in the town. Her resources are tradecraft, instinct, and Samuel, a former IAF captain untested as a clandestine operative. Their common Persian Jewish heritage and mission make for an unforgettable Purim party.