It is very early in Jack Ryan’s career—so early that he has not yet even become an analyst for the CIA. But a series of nasty encounters with an IRA splinter group has brought Ryan to the attention of the CIA’s Deputy Director and his British counterpart. They offer him his first job as a freelance analyst, and he readily accepts. Debriefing a high-level Russian defector, however, he comes across an unbelievable plot: top Soviet...

In the suburbs of Maryland, the firm of Hendley and Associates meanders its way through financial transactions—but its true purpose is to identify and locate terrorist threats, and then deal with them in whatever manner necessary. "The Campus" is always on the lookout for new talent, and its eye happens to light on President John Patrick Ryan's son: Jack Ryan, Jr. While his father moved through the ranks of the CIA and into the Presidency, Jack...