A letter to readers:

John Wells is back. Lucky for him, and for all of us. In truth, I nearly killed him off at the end of The Faithful Spy. I never planned on a sequel. But advanced medical technology -- and pleas from Random House, my publisher at the time -- saved him. And I have to admit I'm glad he's still around.

The Faithful Spy was a story of loneliness. The three main characters -- Wells, Jennfier Exley, Wells's handler at the CIA, and Omar Khadri, the terrorist who opposes them -- are nearly always alone, unable or unwilling to trust anyone around them. The Ghost War, in contrast, is a tale of betrayal, of the lies we tell our coworkers and spouses and closest friends -- for ambition, for greed, or simply because we can. In the middle of the storm stands Wells, still quiet, still the
quickest draw in the West, and still trying to make sense of this often incomprehensible world. After another year with him, and Exley, I feel like I know them both better than I did before, and like them more. I hope you agree.