Synopsis
Deep White Cover
a novel
Copyright 2014-19 Joel W. Barrows
3:27 a.m., Wednesday, May 6th, along the Texas/Mexico border, southeast of Laredo.
It had been a long, grueling journey to get this far. And now, the harsh terrain of the South Texas desert lay before them. Still, Enrique Reynado-Pinales had to turn to his sister, Isabel, and smile. They had finally reached the Promised Land. They had reached El Norte.
But what Enrique doesn’t know is that a small band of men awaits their arrival, men with no intention of providing a warm welcome.
As America struggles to gain control of its borders, extremist anti-immigrant groups and white-supremacist hate-mongers have begun to combine resources, and ideologies. These new hybrids of hate pose a rising threat, not only to the country’s immigrants, but also to national security. Among the leaders of these groups is one man who reigns supreme: Royce Lundgren, the charismatic founder of the country’s most virulent anti-immigrant organization, The Nation.
Deep White Cover introduces Special Agent David Ward, ATF’s most successful undercover operative. Ward lives life on the razor’s edge. His work is his calling, and has already cost him a marriage and any semblance of a normal life. Still, he knows that there is real evil in world, truly bad people who need to be dealt with, and he has the skills and commitment to do something about them.
Posing as Ed Maddox, a disgruntled veteran of the Army’s Special Forces, Ward works his way into The Nation, befriending its leaders and learning its secrets . . . or so he thinks. In truth, the organization’s reach exceeds anything that the seasoned agent could have possibly imagined, something he will learn only when it seems too late to stop them.
The story also follows Jacob Meade, a young man who has embraced The Nation’s ideology. In an attempt to impress Lundgren, Meade attempts to arrange a transfer of drugs in exchange for high-powered weapons, those that the organization is beginning to hoard for the coming revolution. Little does Meade know that his source, Ralph “Rogue Beast” Baker, a biker with connections to arms traffickers, is actually ATF undercover operative, Joe Slater.
Meade’s arrest forces him into cooperation with the Feds and lands him in the Witness Protection Program. It also provides the ATF and Special Agent Ward with the opportunity and motive to infiltrate The Nation. Intelligence shows the group amassing a dangerous arsenal and taking up its own war against the illegal aliens. But what ATF doesn’t know is that the leaders of The Nation have planned much more, including an event that will provoke the revolution they seek.
Deep White Cover is a unique and timely story that will entertain, as well as challenge readers from across the political spectrum to re-examine their views on immigration issues. It offers a warning of what could happen if the United States fails to secure its borders, allowing these groups to take matters into their own hands.
The author’s considerable experience in state and federal law enforcement contributes to the accuracy of both dialogue and investigative techniques described. The reader is now an “insider.”
The timing of this story is perfect, combined with the compelling dual narrative of one man facing the challenges of the Witness Protection Program while another faces the everyday threat of discovery as an undercover agent. The result: a powerful suspense drama that drives the story forward.
"As good as any Baldacci" -- Roald Tweet, co-host of WVIK's Scribble