A collection of five heart-stopping stories from the master thriller writer. A miracle in war-torn Siena that begins with the persecution of a young nun in the turbulent days of the sixteenth century and culminates in the bitter German retreat from Italy; a drug smuggling heist on an international flight where the Knock pit their wits against the smugglers; a brural urban murder, where a brilliant QC decides to defend the killers, resulting in a startling justice; an incandescent art scam at a famous London auction house, and a brilliantly plotted revenge that shatters the elegant world of the Old Masters - each story is a remarkable tour de force. And above all here is a brilliant novella, 'Whispering Wind', which begins with the single survivor of Custer's Last Stand at the battle of Little Big Horn. Then follows the rescue from rape and murder of a Cheyenne girl and a flight across the mountains and forests of the West, ending in a savage present-day manhunt in the wild lands of Montana.

弗•福赛斯（Frederick Forsyth, 1938~）

国际政治惊悚小说大师,最受情报界推崇的间谍小说作家。他的小说用新闻写作的手法,以翔实的事实调查作为基础,充满了精确的技术细节。他笔下的人物具有高智商的逻辑思维、训练有素的专业性、坚决彻底的执行力、快速的危机处理和应变能力,堪称项目策划实施的至高典范。

福赛斯本人的经历很传奇：6岁就曾试图搭载美军坦克去诺曼底参战,16岁偷偷单独驾驶双翼飞机翱翔蓝天,19岁成为英国皇家空军史上最年轻的战斗机飞行员。他能讲英、法、德、俄、西班牙等多国语言,曾任英国路透社、BBC记者,深入局势动荡地区采访时,还曾与雇佣兵、职业刺客、军火贩子等打过交道,甚至多次在流弹中死里逃生。

福赛斯对世界各国的政治主张、历史恩怨、宗教矛盾、民俗风情、特种部队、间谍手法、武器装备等了如指掌,他的小说素有“杀手指南”“间谍培训手册”之称。他对国际阴谋和情报的敏感与前瞻性,让美国中情局、英国密情局、以色列摩萨德等情报机构不得不时时关注着他。

2012年2月16日,英国“犯罪小说作家协会”（CWA）授予福赛斯终身成就奖——“钻石匕首奖”(Cartier Diamond Dagger)。