A novel of the early days of World War II.

Continuing the story of five interrelated families as they become entangled in events from the beginning of the twentieth century, from the rise of the Third Reich, through the Spanish Civil War and the great dramas of World War II, up to the explosions of the American and Soviet atomic bombs.

East German teacher Rebecca Hoffman discovers she's been spied on by the Stasi for years and commits an impulsive act that will affect her family for the rest of their lives. George Jakes, the child of a mixed-race couple, bypasses a corporate law career to join Robert F. Kennedy's Justice Department, and finds himself in the middle not only of the seminal events of the civil rights battle, but a much more personal battle of his own. Cameron Dewar,...

"'Every catastrophe begins with a little problem that doesn't get fixed.' So says Pauline Green, president of the United States. A shrinking oasis in the Sahara Desert; a stolen US Army drone; an uninhabited Japanese island; and one country's secret stash of deadly chemical poisons: all these play roles in a relentlessly escalating crisis. Struggling to prevent the outbreak of a world war are a young woman intelligence officer; a spy working undercover...

Judy Maddox, a young FBI agent, is assigned to track down a terrorist group who have threatened to trigger a man-made earthquake if their demands are not met. With the help of seismologist Michael Quercus, Judy must race to beat the terrorist deadline and save San Francisco from being brought down in ruins.

As D-Day approaches, Faber, an aristocratic German spy known as "The Needle," is aware of the the Allies' top-secret intended place of attack, but is distracted by the affections of Lucy Rose, a lonely, strong-willed Englishwoman.

Set in Victorian England, the story portrays a family splintered by lust yet bound inexorably by a shared legacy; and brings us men and women swept toward a perilous climax where greed, fed by the shocking truth of a boy's death, must be stopped--or not just one man's dreams, but those of a nation, will die.

"International bestselling author Ken Follett has enthralled millions of readers with The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, two stories of the Middle Ages set in the fictional city of Kingsbridge. The saga now continues with Follett's magnificent new epic, A Column of Fire. In 1558, the ancient stones of Kingsbridge Cathedral look down on a city torn apart by religious conflict. As power in England shifts precariously between Catholics and...

"It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. England is facing attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Those in power bend justice according to their will, regardless of ordinary people and often in conflict with the king. Without a clear rule of law, chaos reigns. In these turbulent times, three characters find their lives intertwined: A young boatbuilder's life is turned upside down when the only home he's ever known is raided...