A communist splinter group from the Provisional IRA attempt to kill Jack Ryan and his family in this highly entertaining book. There are only three major actions scenes, but the intervening narrative is well-paced. Occasionally, the repeated descriptions of Ryan and his wife as paragons of professional expertise feel tiresome, but one never sympathises for the heartless terrorists. The predictable final showdown is helpfully adorned by a text-book application of pathetic fallacy, and Ryan's interactions with the Royal Family are amusing.